Party of Two
by myrtillez
Summary: Castle and Beckett are in way over their heads when a double murder investigation turns into a very deadly game. The stakes? Their lives.
1. Prologue

**This is going to be a rather long Author's Note. I promise the next ones will be much shorter but this story requires an explanation.**

**"Party of Two" is a (very) long FF written by two authors: AkaBlackNight and myself. We originally wrote this story in French from Oct. 2010 to Feb. 2011. And now I've taken it upon myself to translate the whole thing (it's only 200-something pages long on Word after all... O_o)**

**This story started out as a joke, and turned out a long, serious piece of work. BN (that's her nickname) and I could not be more different when it comes to our writing: She likes drama, I like romance. She writes awesome torture scenes, I prefer smutt scenes. Someone almost always dies in her FFs, mine are almost always about smutt. She has a fondness for guns, I have a fondness for knives. She likes shooting things, I like combat. She adores writing for/about Castle, I adore writing for/about Beckett.  
>And in the end we took all these differences and put them together in a story combining action, drama, romance, smutt, comedy, suspense... You name it, we probably wrote it. We wrote the prologue in two parts - mine and hers - and then alternated between chapters.<br>**

**Also, please let me thank the awesome beta who is being sooooo patient with me (especially with my punctuation), you're a gem. Thank you!  
><strong>

**What's the premise of the story you ask? Well I can't tell you much, I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise but there has been a murder (I know, shocking, right?) and as Beckett and Castle investigate the matter, they end up mixed up in an unusual and deadly game. **

**So without further ado...  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>PARTY OF TWO<strong>

**PROLOGUE**

When the silence that was Kate Beckett's apartment was upset by the shrill ringing of her phone, she groaned. She took one hand out from under her pillow and searched for the upsetting device on her nightstand. Her eyes closed and her face still buried in her pillow, she put the phone to her ear.

She knew exactly what that phone call was. No reasonable person would ever dare call her at this hour unless it was the precinct and there had been a murder.

When she got all the details she needed to get to the scene she dropped her phone beside her and lay there for a while, motionless, eyes closed.

As per usual, she needed to take that minute to start her day. She needed to take the time to wake up, to ready herself for what it would bring her way. It was a time for her to remember too. Because a day in the life of Kate Beckett never started without a thought for her mother, for the night that changed her life forever and that lead her to becoming a cop. That night. The reason why on this particular day at... she opened an eye and looked at her clock... ten past seven in the morning, her phone rang to tell her to go to one of New-York's finest hotels to investigate a double homicide.

When the digital zero changed to a one, she opened both eyes and pushed the covers away. She grabbed an elastic band and loosely tied her hair in a bun.  
>She padded to her closet and took out a pair of blue jeans and a beige blouse that she lay on her bed. Then she headed to the kitchen to start the coffee machine before walking to the bathroom, taking her long shirt and shorts off along the way.<p>

She came out a few minutes later, a towel wrapped around her chest, a comb in one hand that she threaded through her long hair.  
>She walked back to the kitchen and while one hand was busy undoing knots in her hair, the other poured the coffee in a cup.<br>Comb and cup in hand she went back to her bedroom and unhooked the towel that dropped to her feet.

She took a sip of her coffee before setting it on the nightstand and made a face.

She hated her coffee. Whenever possible she always waited to get to the precinct to enjoy a delicious coffee from the espresso machine Castle gave them. A mighty fine gift in fact, although she'd never told him so and probably never would.  
>But on days like this one, when she had to head straight to the murder scene, she had to make do with her own coffee- at the very least to wake herself up before buying a decent brew on the way.<p>

She put her jeans and blouse on and-coffee in hand-headed back to the bathroom, picking up her discarded towel on the way.

She came back out a few minutes later, combed and made-up with an empty cup of joe.

After dropping the cup in her sink, she went back to her bedroom. She walked to her drawers and opened the first one. She took out her mother's ring that she put around her neck and her father's watch that she fastened around her wrist, checking the time: thirty-seven past seven.  
>From a drawer below she picked up her weapon and its holster and clipped them on her hip along with her badge.<br>She put on a pair of high-heels, her black leather jacket, took her phone and went to the kitchen one last time, grabbing a slice of bread. She took her keys on the counter, opened her phone and pressed the 'two' key.

As she was closing her front door, the phone was still ringing.

* * *

><p>As he tried to go back to sleep after an annoying dream a music he vaguely recognized took him out of his slumber.<p>

_She's nothing like a girl you've ever seen before!  
>Nothing you can compare to your neighborhood whore!<em>

When his brain finally woke up, he realized it was Beckett calling him.

Since he had changed his ring tone for her, he couldn't help but sing along every time she called. Which is most inconvenient when you're supposed to answer the phone, not sing and have the caller wait on the line.

_I'm trying to find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectful!_

Eyes still closed, he felt around for his iPhone, with no luck. So he opened his eyes, reluctantly, and got up, turning the light on and walking to the chair where he'd dropped his pants the night before.

_Damn Girl!  
>Damn, you's a sexy bitch, sexy bitch!<br>Damn, you's a sexy bitch!_

He dug into his pocket and came out victoriously with his phone in hand. Next time, he'd leave it on his nightstand.

As he put the phone to his ear, he couldn't help but smile at he thought of Beckett and the ring tone he had chosen for her. Of course he knew that if she ever came to find out about it, it would be the end of him. But he liked to live dangerously. He cleared his throat, as if trying to hide the fact that he was sleeping seconds ago and answered his phone.

"Castle."

She had just told him – lovingly - that he ought to be ready in twenty minutes if he wanted to ride along with her to a crime scene: a double homicide.

So much romance so early in the morning, what better way to start a day!

He put his phone on the bed and went to his closet to pull out a pair of jeans, a white shirt and a suede vest. He gave a quick glance to his watch. Beckett would be there soon; he'd better hurry under the shower.  
>Which is where he headed, clothes in hand, yawning and threading his fingers in his hair to tame some wild strands.<br>He came back out a few minutes later all woken up and dressed up.

He then walked to his kitchen looking for something to eat but as he opened the fridge, the doorbell rang.

"Oh come on. Already? I haven't even had breakfast yet!"

He reluctantly closed the fridge and headed to the door, readjusting his shirt in the process.  
>A faint smile appeared on his face when he saw the detective standing on his doorstep.<p>

"Good morning Beckett"

"'Morning Castle. You ready to go?"

"Actually..." he started, looking over at the kitchen "I haven't had breakfast yet..."

"Yeah, so? Neither did I. No time for that, come on."

Castle quickly ran to the kitchen to grab a brioche that he stuffed in his mouth as he put on his jacket and took his keys. While they were waiting for the elevator, Beckett stealthily stole the brioche from the writer's mouth and took a large bite.

"Hey! That's my brioche!"

"You should have taken two" she shrugged, taking another generous bite.

"But I'm hungry..."

"Oh come on Castle, don't start complaining because you're hungry, 'kay?"

The elevator reached his floor and she stepped into it, a smile on her face, avoiding his look. She heard him mutter something with the word "unfair" in it before he stepped in the elevator beside her.

The day had barely started and already one was sulking while the other smiled in satisfaction.

"You know you'll pay for that." threatened Castle under his breath as they both got in the Crown Vic.


	2. Room Service

**PARTY OF TWO**

**CHAPTER 1 : ROOM SERVICE**

Beckett flashed her badge to the officer on duty and stepped under the tape, followed very closely by Castle who greeted the man by his first name.

As per usual, she stopped in the middle of the room, taking it in, observing it, creating her own image of the crime scene before being flooded with information.

They were in one of the luxurious suites of the Hyatt hotel, which led her to believe their victims had the financial means to afford such a place.

The couple in question lay in the living-room. One was on the carpet, on her back, her face distorted in pain; the other was lying on his stomach, between the couch and the coffee table and Lanie was kneeling by his side.

She looked around the room and noticed two closed suitcases and two transparent garment bags hanging on the cupboard door, containing an evening gown for one and a suit for the other.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you."

Beckett turned her head to Lanie who had just spoken and then, following her look, she saw Castle leaning over a plate of dessert. He held a chocolate eclair in his hand, ready to seek his teeth in to it.

The detective shot him a disapproving look before she turned back to Lanie for further explanation.

"Our lovebirds were most likely poisoned, and given the looks on their faces, I'd say it was darn painful and took a while... I can't be one hundred percent sure yet but personally, I'd stay away from the food..."

Castle gave the eclair a disgusted look and put it ever so delicately back on the plate, handling it as though Lanie had just told him it was a bomb.

"I'm sorry, but I'm hungry!" He explained, moving away from the tempting cart. "_Someone_ stole my breakfast this morning..."

Beckett simply rolled her eyes in response and crouched down beside Lanie.

"So Lanie, what do we have?"

"One female, one male, both in their thirties. No apparent marks of struggle, but given the foam that formed in the corner of their mouths I'd say they were poisoned."

"T.O.D.?"

"According to lividity and liver temp' I'd say between eight and eleven last night. I'll know more once I get these two back to the morgue."

Beckett smiled in thanks and got up, making her way to the woman. Behind her, she saw Esposito coming out of the master bedroom. They both nodded to each other in acknowledgment.

"Meet Mr. and Mrs. Van Der Braun. Andreas and Katlijn. Maried. Dutch..."

"In case their names didn't give that away..." interrupted Castle from somewhere else in the room.

Esposito gave him a dirty look before he continued.

"They arrived at JFK yesterday from Amsterdam according to the stamp on their passport. The floor supervisor found them this morning when he brought their pre-ordered breakfast..."

Ryan joined the two detectives, note-book in hand and added his own information.

"According to the maitre d', the Van D..." he cast a quick glance at his notes "Van Der Brauns ordered both their dinner and their breakfast at quarter to nine last night."

"That fits with Lanie's time frame. Alright, Ryan find whoever brought their dinner up last night let's see how clean they are and if they noticed anything. Oh and ask CSU to pack all the food and drinks in the room."

Ryan nodded and left them as Beckett continued exploring the room for any kind of lead in the investigation. She was nearing the suitcases when she heard the writer's voice.

"Oh my God!"

She swirled around instantly.

"Castle, what is it?"

She saw him brandishing two tickets for a show.

"They have box seats! Do you know how hard it is to get box seats?"

He examined the tickets closely while Beckett was already getting her attention back to the suitcases, clearly uninterested in the writer's findings.

"And front row too... They were supposed to go to the opera tonight, to see _La Traviata_..." he thought for a moment, as though considering something then asked: "Since they won't be needing these anymore do you think I could..."

Beckett's dark and menacing look made him put took the tickets gently on the table.

"A waste if you ask me" he ushered as he continued looking around the room.

Beckett had reached the garment bags hanging on the cupboard and found a folded piece of paper pinned on one of them. She took it and opened it, reading out loud the phrase: "_Wear this tonight._"

"Listen to this,"

She turned around only to see Castle holding a rose in one hand and an invitation card in the other.

"_Prendete questo fiore..._ and pin it to your suit."

She looked at him, perplexed by these findings, but Castle misinterpreted her look and added :

"_Prendete questo fiore_, means 'take this flower' in Italian, it's a reference to..."

"I know Castle," she interrupted "I do know the story of _La Traviata._"

Now it was Castle's turn to look surprised, although it quickly vanished when he remembered who he was dealing with.

He stepped closer to her, still holding the rose in his hand.

"A mysterious meet at the opera, a rose to be recognized... All of this stinks of..."

"Don't say it Castle!" she interrupted, holding her hand out to silence him.

"What? I didn't even..."

"I already know your theory and I'm not interested in hearing it."

She spun on her heels and walked off leaving Castle and his rose behind.

He looked at the small flower and mumbled: "CIA"

* * *

><p>Beckett finished writing down on the whiteboard all the information they had gathered so far.<p>

She walked back to her desk and saw Castle come out of the break room with only one coffee mug in hand. As he walked over to her he brought it to his lips to take a sip and immediately grimaced in pain.

"Ouch! Hot!"

She stared at the mug with envy. She still hadn't had her good quality coffee since that one cup she'd had at her place and she really had hoped Castle would make coffee for her too.

"Anything new?" he asked, putting his mug on the desk.

"Nothing so far. CSU pulled a bunch of fingerprints and DNA samples from the room, unsurprisingly, so I don't think we'll catch a break there. I'm still waiting on Lanie's report. Ryan is out looking for our delivery boy and Esposito is trying to reach the Van Der..." she gave an imperceptible look at the board "...Braun's family"

The ding of the elevator rang out and they both turned their heads to see Ryan come out of it, his ever-present notebook in hand.

"What's new?" asked the detective.

"I found the boy in charge of room service last night,"

Ryan stepped to the whiteboard and grabbed a pen, adding information as he spoke.

"He says he picked up their order from the kitchen somewhere after nine and brought it up to their room immediately."

Behind him, Beckett and Castle listened intently.

"I was able to look through security footage and he didn't touch the food once during the delivery. Which doesn't exclude the fact that he could have added the poison in the kitchen where there are no cameras. But..." he stuck the picture of a twenty year old boy under the words _persons of interest_ "... I doubt he is our guy."

Beckett examined the boy's picture. She hadn't really thought that the delivery boy would have anything to do with the murder but they needed to check every possible lead and so they did.

"I doubt it as well. But let's keep an eye on him, just in case."

Ryan nodded his approval just as Esposito stood up from his desk and joined the trio.

"So I did a little digging on our happy – although deceased – couple..."

As Castle turned his attention to Esposito, Beckett quickly grabbed his mug and stole a few sips in delight.

"... and guess what? I couldn't find any Van Der Brauns matching our victims."

Beckett put the mug down in surprise and Castle caught sight of the movement.

"Hey!" he protested grabbing his mug protectively.

"They don't exist?" she asked Esposito, choosing to ignore the writer.

"Nope. No Van Der Brauns living in the Netherlands or elsewhere fit the description of our Katlijn and Andreas. So I asked CSU to run their fingerprints in the system, but so far they've come up with nothing."

Castle, still holding his mug turned to the board thoughtfully.

"Great. So not only we don't know who killed them or what they were doing in New -York but now we also don't know who they are... This is gonna be easy," commented Beckett with a sigh.

"We might have one lead..." started Castle

Beckett and Esposito turned their heads to him and saw that he was pointing at the two opera tickets stuck on the board.

"We know they were supposed to go to the opera to meet someone... Maybe that someone knows who they are..."

"Or maybe..." added Beckett, getting up from her desk, suddenly interested in opera "that someone killed them."

Castle took the two tickets and presented them to the detective, a seductive look on his face.

"So what do you say detective, wanna go to the opera with me?"

"Huh-huh. No Castle."

"But..."

"There is no way _you_ are going to the opera tonight."

"Yeah, and who else could go?"

He pointed to the photos of the two victims.

"You've seen our victims. She's tall, brunette, sexy..." Beckett gave him a dirty look as a warning "He is tall, brown hair, full of charm" now her dirty look clearly turned menacing "Ryan and Esposito will never be able to pass off as Andreas Van Der Braun!"

"I could also ask some other colleague..." she retorted with a wicked grin.

He gave her a childish pout that she found both adorable and irritating.

He handed her his cup of coffee with pleading eyes.

"Come on Beckett..."

The detective turned to her two colleagues for support but found them grinning stupidly, enjoying the show immensely.

"You and I. Tonight, at the opera... Undercover..." he continued seductively.

She took a moment to think, although her decision was already made.

And then she grabbed the cup of coffee from his hands.


	3. Prendete Questo Fiore

**As always, thank you _wingsss_ for your patience while beta-reading this.**

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><p><strong>PARTY OF TWO<strong>

**CHAPTER 2 : PRENDETE QUESTO FIORE**

Castle was beyond excited about the night he was going to spend at the Opera with detective Beckett. And Martha Rogers, walking around with a glass of wine in hand, felt like she was seeing her boy years ago, preparing for his first date.

"Great, now I feel old..." she thought out loud.

"What was that mother?" asked Castle who was fighting with his bow tie.

"Oh nothing. Here, let me help you with that."

Martha stepped in front of her son and fixed his bow, just like on his first date.

"Look at you, all excited like a young virgin on his first..."

"Mother!" interrupted Castle with a grunt.

"Don't 'mother' me."

Having finished with his bow, she smoothed the fabric over his shoulders with a proud look.

"In fact knowing you I don't even understand how you've managed to behave for so long."

Castle just shrugged in lieu of an answer, looking over his mother and at his reflection in the mirror. Martha walked around him, placing herself by his side and they looked at themselves. Again, her eyes shone with pride.

"She changed you," stated Mrs. Rogers matter-of-factly.

"How so?" asked Castle, slightly defensive.

"You're a better man around her Richard..."

The writer just looked on, losing himself in his thoughts for a moment before breaking away.

"I've already told you, we're going to the Opera for a mission, that's all there is to it."

"Of course boy. You keep telling yourself that. But the way I see it, the two of you, going out to the Opera, dressed up to the nines, on this beautiful night... looks a helluva lot like a date. And after two years working with her... It was about darn time!"

With that last remark, Martha let herself down on the sofa, comfortably sprawling herself like the diva that she was.

"I'm just going to ignore that last remark and get going."

Martha smiled a knowing smile as her son bent down to kiss her on the forehead.

"Kiss Alexis goodnight for me when she gets home will you?"

"Of course dear. Be good."

Castle turned around as he reached the door and grinned at his mother.

"Of course! You know me..."

"Precisely, answered his mother as he closed the front door.

* * *

><p>A few moments later, a limousine parked in front of Kate Beckett's apartment building and Castle came out of it.<p>

He rode the elevator to her floor and walked to her front door, but froze as he was about to knock. He felt that knot in his stomach that had been bothering him for the last couple of hours and shook his head. His mother couldn't be right. She couldn't be. He took a deep breath and knocked.

When she opened the door, however, he stopped breathing altogether.

Beckett had put on the dress addressed to Katlijn and, as he had expected, it fit her like a glove. She was quite simply stunning.

She had tied her hair up in a bun but a few lose strands delicately framed her face.

He let his eyes trail down her body, over her bare shoulders where only the straps of her creme colored dress appeared. He continued his discovery down the lines of her dress and felt his cheeks turn red when his eyes fell on the contours of a rather plunging neckline. He noticed that the only jewelry she wore was her usual necklace, holding her mother's ring, which was now resting in the crest between her breasts. He swallowed hard. Forcing himself to look elsewhere, he continued down the curves of her body. The dress had a pleated belt, just under her chest The rest of the fabric fell freely over her long legs, all the way down to her feet where he guessed she was wearing creme high-heel shoes.

His eyes traveled back up her body with equal admiration and landed on her face, where he saw she was looking at him with an odd, almost embarrassed, look.

Castle was so mesmerized by the woman standing before him that he only managed a "_wow_" as a greeting. Speech eluded him as he took her in, his breathing was short, his heartbeat fast and his mouth as dry as a desert on the hottest day.

After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, Beckett, visibly ill at ease with the situation, broke the silence.

"It's the dress," she stated, as if trying to find an excuse for his behavior, not really understanding what he thought was so special about her looks. She felt completely ridiculous in this outfit.

Since Castle didn't move or react, she stepped out of her apartment, putting a hand on his chest to force him backwards. He took one step back under her push and she turned around to close her door. And then the staring continued as the writer discovered the detective's completely bare back. He couldn't help but let his eyes roam all over her body, appreciating every curve, every line. As she struggled to properly close her door, Castle took pleasure in watching the muscles on her back contract and a huge grin appeared on his face.

"I don't know who these people are, but I know one thing... They have damn good taste!"

"Castle, please stay focused here, we really don't know what we're getting ourselves into; we need to stay sharp."

"Focused? How can I stay focused when my date for the evening is such a magnificent woman wearing a very revealing and flatt..."

Beckett, who had managed to close her door at last, turned around swiftly and shot him an incendiary look, daring him to finish his sentence.

"Come on Beckett, don't underestimate yourself. You are a stunning woman, there's no denying it. And seeing you in this dress... Well it's just so completely..." he let his eyes devour her body as he tried to find the words.

"Stop that Castle."

"But, I..."

"No! Stop! Right now! One more word about this dress and I swear..."

She shot him another threatening look, and Castle mimed closing his mouth with a key and throwing it away.

When they came out of her apartment building, Beckett was surprised to see a limousine waiting for them. The driver nodded in greeting and opened the back door for them. She smiled at him, and turned to the writer.

"Castle, what is this?"

"It's a limousine."

"I _know_ it's a limousine. But what is it doing parked in front of my building?"

"Well, we're going to the opera, aren't we? We couldn't possibly go by cab!"

Beckett rolled her eyes as she nonetheless stepped closer to the vehicle with appreciation.

"Plus, a beautiful woman such as yourself deserves..." he started, as he followed her.

"Stop!" she interrupted, turning around immediately.

"I didn't say anything wrong!"

"I know. I'm just... anticipating."

"Oh really? So you can read my thoughts now?"

"No, but I know you well enough now to anticipate some of the things you do."

"Is that so? Well if you know me so well, can you guess what I'm thinking right now?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Castle!" she warned, clearly exasperated.

He took the tone of her voice as a sign that he had reached her limits and he had to back off now.

"Fine."

He stepped to the door of the vehicle, dismissing the driver and held it open for Beckett, one hand gesturing for her to get in. She moved closer as he added:

"But you really should try to loosen up a bit."

She ignored his remark and got into the limousine, giving the writer a nice view over her back again, which he took great pleasure in admiring before getting in after her, with that same silly grin on his face as before.

As the car got closer to the opera, Beckett felt the need to clarify a few things about their evening.

"Castle, I want one thing to be clear. We are here on a mission, all right? This is work, not play. So no fooling around. You stay focused. Got it?"

"That was my intention. But you detective..." he smiled charmingly "what did _you_ have in mind?"

She sighed and the limousine pulled over in front of the opera house. A few seconds later the driver opened the door for them. Castle let Beckett out first, never missing a chance to check her out. He came out right behind her, staying very close to her as they walked up to the building.

"Castle, do you have to stand so close?" she remarked slightly on edge.

"We're supposed to act as a married couple, remember?" he smiled fetchingly "We have to be believable!"

And to prove his point, he put a hand around her waist, giving her his most charming smile. Truth be told, Beckett wasn't too unhappy about the situation but she had to maintain a certain decorum.

"Castle..." she breathed menacingly all the while smiling to the people they were approaching "get your hand off my hip before I break your wrist."

"And risk blowing our cover? That's not very professional of you detective..."

As they moved through the crowd she discreetly grabbed his wrist and twisted it slightly.

"Owww, owwww! Okay, okay!" surrendered Castle, rubbing his mistreated wrist.

They entered the opera house and Castle took out the two tickets, showing them to the usher. They went up to the first floor and found their ideally located booth, number 24.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes into the show, as Violetta and Alfredo enjoyed peaceful days in the countryside, Castle turned his head to the back of the box for the tenth time. He nudged Beckett in the ribs, whispering into her ear:<p>

"The woman in the back... she looks suspicious."

"What?" whispered Beckett, who had clearly been absorbed by the love story.

"Look at her, second from left..."

Beckett rolled her eyes and, feigning to scratch her back, turned around to see the woman. She didn't find her particularly suspicious, in fact, the woman smiled warmly at the detective when she caught her staring.

"Very discreet Beckett..." reproached Castle.

"Shut it. And I don't think she's weird."

Just then, the woman behind them tapped on the writer's shoulder.

"Be quiet please," she asked rather politely.

Castle apologized with one of his dazzling smiles and brought his attention back to the stage.

"I still think she's strange," whispered Castle to his partner after a few seconds

"Castle, shush."

He gave her a pout and sank in his chair, folding his arms over his chest as Alfredo's father started singing.

* * *

><p>Seeing as Beckett was clearly unwilling to believe him, Castle took it upon himself to keep an eye on his suspect when intermission came.<br>In fact, the lady had left the box a few minutes before the curtain dropped on the countryside house and Castle, finding that behavior particularly suspicious had excused himself to follow her outside.

The corridors of the opera house were still empty and so the would-be detective took great pleasure in hiding behind colonnades and doors to tail his suspect without being noticed.  
>He followed her to the ladies room where she went. He walked to the door, looking around to see if he hadn't been followed and pushed the door open.<p>

He hadn't put one foot in that something hit him in the head.

"You pig!"

He felt the object – her handbag – hit him again and he put his arm up to shield himself.

"Lady, please, stop this!"

She did, but held her bag menacingly.

"Are you following me?"

"I... Me? No!"

"Yes you are!"

"I can assure you I'm not."

"Then why are you in the ladies room?" she asked, putting both fists on her hips.

"I... well... It's just... I..."

He looked around the room for an excuse, all the while picturing the detective lecturing him about his little adventure if she caught wind of it.

"I... needed... paper!"

"Paper?" repeated the woman incredulous.

"Paper. There isn't any left in the men's, you see so... I thought I'd grab some here. I'm sorry if I scared you. I sincerely apologize," he continued, bowing a little and stepping back out. "Terribly sorry."

He closed the door, forgetting the paper he had presumably come to pick up, and sighed in relief.

Just then the doors of various boxes opened and people started filling the corridors.

Castle decided against going back to Beckett, seeing as she was such a buzz kill and instead set out to investigate on his own. He walked around the opera house, mingling with people, looking for any sort of clue, all the while making sure his pinned rose was well in evidence.

* * *

><p>When the curtain came down and the lights came up, people started leaving their seats. Beckett however remained in hers a few more minutes. She took advantage of the ideal location of the box to scrutinize the room. She didn't know what she was looking for exactly but hoped she'd recognize it upon seeing it.<p>

But in fact she saw nothing. There were no strange people, no suspicious activity coming from the other parts of the room. And no one had come to their box.

So the detective left booth number 24 and headed to the main hall where she had arranged to meet with detectives Ryan and Esposito.

She made her way downstairs, zigzagging between all the smokers heading out for a smoke and saw her two colleagues by one of the side doors.

"Wow Beckett! You sure you're not too cold in that?"

She gave a dirty look to Esposito and turned to Ryan who was staring, his mouth slightly gaping. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Alright guys, focus!"

"Sorry Beckett, it's just really hard to focus when you're dressed like that."

As an answer, Esposito got another killer look from his superior.

"Anything new on your side?"

"Nothing. Well, nothing suspicious anyway." Ryan managed to answer. "Is the opera good?" he asked, his eyes way too low to her liking.

"Ryan! Eyes, up here!" she ordered, motioning for him to raise his head. "And I didn't come here to give you a review... Anyway, nothing has happened on our side either. Nobody made contact."

She looked around at the people walking past them.

"Where is your... _husband_ by the way?" asked Esposito, putting a particular emphasis on the word 'husband.'

Beckett, who had run out of threatening looks decided not to answer and instead simply gestured vaguely that he was 'around.'

"And you're not afraid he's gonna do something stupid?"

"Oh I know he will. But I'm counting on the fact that he knows if anything goes wrong because of him, the last thing he'll see is the bullet I'll shoot between his eyes," answered Beckett with the most charming smile.

The lights in the hall started to flick, indicating that the show would resume soon.

"Alright, I'm gonna head back. Something tells me this whole evening is going to be a giant waste... But we never know. You two stay around for a few more minutes after the show resumes and then, if nothing happens just go home, okay? No need for you two to stay around for nothing. I'll call you as soon as we come out."

"You got it," said Ryan as she started to walk off.

"Oh and Beckett," Esposito called her back "don't catch a cold!"

One last look and Beckett disappeared in the sea of people heading back to their seats.

* * *

><p>The second half of the opera went smoothly and Beckett and Castle watched in silence as Violetta and Alfredo's doomed love came to an end when the lady fell, motionless on her bed.<p>

People applauded, the lights came back up and the spectators left their seats. The pair waited for their box to empty before exiting.

Once in the corridor, Castle presented his arm to his partner and, forgetting for a moment the purpose of their night out, she took it. After all, since nothing had happened, this evening out with the writer could very well pass as a date and the thought wasn't all that unpleasant to the detective. A small smile formed on her lips as they stepped out of the building into the cool air of the night.

They walked to the curb and Kate looked at the cars waiting outside, not seeing their limousine.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," commented Castle off her look.

Beckett turned around to face Castle and put her hand in her small handbag, looking for her phone.

"Well, that was a waste. Looks like the opera lead wasn't such a good one after all."

"I don't know that I'd call the evening a waste. I, for one, had a rather pleasant night in your company detective."

Beckett didn't answer but the smile that appeared on her face was enough for Castle to understand that she, too, had enjoyed their night out... Even if she would never admit it.

As Kate took her phone out, a black van pulled up behind her.

Before she could register its presence, three men dressed in black, wearing gloves and hoods came out. Beckett didn't have time to move that she felt an electric shock on the base of her neck. Her muscles contracted before her body relaxed and she dropped both handbag and phone. One of the men grabbed her as she was falling down and dragged her inside the van.

Meanwhile, Castle had started to react and lurched on the men, trying to save his partner. He punched one in the face, so hard that his jaw cracked upon impact. But before he could repeat the movement, he received a fist in his own face and felt the electric shock on his neck. Seconds later he fell down on the ground.

The two men remaining threw his body into the van and jumped in themselves before the vehicle sped into the street, under the stunned looks of the few witnesses standing around.

Soon, the van disappeared into the night, leaving behind Beckett's handbag and her phone, ready to dial Esposito's number.


	4. CIA

**PARTY OF TWO**

**CHAPTER 3: C.I.A. (Clueless, Imprisoned and Armed)**

The first thing Kate felt was a throbbing headache. Her mind was foggy, as though she had spent the night drinking too much alcohol. But she didn't remember drinking any.

Memories of the previous night started to come back to her... No, there definitely hadn't been any alcohol involved but there had been that electric shock... As a reflex she brought her hand up to her neck where she had felt a sting before her world had gone dark.

She slowly started to come to and the events of the night became clearer. She was in front of the Opera house, talking to Castle when... Castle!

She instantly opened her eyes and noticed what her stiff body had not yet told her, she was lying in bed. Kate immediately looked around for her partner.

She didn't have to look very far however as he was lying right beside her. She grew slightly worried when she saw that he was still out of it and brought her hand to his neck, checking for a pulse. But the sound she heard coming from his mouth – that could be defined as a blend between a moan and a groan – told her he was alive and well. Relieved about his well-being, she noticed the black eye on his face. She bit her lip in compassion, vaguely remembering being attacked and imagining that Castle had tried something incredibly stupid... and chivalrous. She smiled at the thought: _what a sweet, sweet fool. _

Turning away from the distraction that was Castle, she propped herself on her elbows to have a look around.

They were in a bedroom, rather well furnished and luxurious from the looks of it. The walls were made of varnished wood and the floor was covered with a creme-colored carpet. In front of the bed stood an imposing TV cupboard. In the room she also saw a desk, two armchairs and a sofa as well as a coffee table. On the side she noticed a sliding door slightly ajar leading to what looked like a walk-in closet behind it. Another door was right beside it, most likely leading to the bathroom. She brought her attention to the third door in the room, the front door. It was made of wood, but something struck her— if there was a handle on the door there was no lock. That particular door certainly did not look as 'rustic' as the rest of the furniture.

The room was lit by the few rays of the early sun that filtered through two windows... protected by steel bars; the only true indication that they were not in a hotel room on vacation but were in fact prisoners.

Instinctively she put her hand on her right thigh and was relieved when, under the dress she was still wearing, she felt her small Glock 28 in its place.

As she was about to get up, Castle, still asleep, turned on the side and threw one arm around her waist, forcing her to stay in bed.

She allowed herself the time to observe him a moment. The sleepy writer seemed so different from the man she had been working with for over two years. With his messy hair, his peaceful features, his hand neatly tucked under the pillow he was... cute. When she saw his black eye again however, she was reminded of the situation they were in. She grabbed his arm, pushing it off of her.

The movement was effective and Castle emitted a few mumbled words to protest.

"Five more minutes..." he begged with a yawn.

She held him by the shoulder and shook him as delicately as ever.

"Castle wake up!"

That definitely woke him up and he sat up in a start.

"What? What's going on?"

As his brain was still trying to wake up, his eyes fell on the woman sitting by his side.

"Beckett? What are you doing in my bed? Did we...?" he raised an eyebrow, slightly worried.

"In your dreams Castle! And this _isn't_ your bed."

She got up and walked to the front door.

"And get up will you, we have to get out of here."

"Sure but err- where is 'here' exactly?"

Castle rubbed his eyes to wake up and let out a string of colorful insults when he felt the pain from his black eye.

Beckett turned to him when she heard his language and smiled at his antiques.

"That's a very impressive black eye you've got there, Castle. You'll have to tell me the story of how you got it."

"With pleasure... as soon as I remember it myself."

Beckett shook her head and got her attention back to the door. Without much hope of success she pulled and pushed on the handle but, as expected, nothing happened. Trying another approach she started banging against it with her shoulder.

"Can I ask what you're trying to do detective?" asked Castle as he got out of bed.

"I'm trying to get us out of here."

"Oh is that what it is. Because from where I'm standing it looked like you were trying to dislocate your shoulder."

"Spare me your snark and go see if you can get something out of the windows instead," she instructed him before giving another bang against the door.

But Castle had no interest in the windows. Instead, he walked to the TV cupboard and opened it with a "Wow," and even added an "awesome" when he opened the mini-bar under it.

"Look at that Beckett, a fully stocked mini-bar!"

Kate turned around only to send Castle an incendiary look.

"Castle! We're not here on vacation! Help me find a way out for god's sake."

The writer nodded and walked to the windows, but his eyes caught sight of the ajar door and he veered towards it.

"Oh my god!"

Beckett jerked her head around on high alert.

"What?"

"Did you see how huge this closet is?"

"Castle!"

He walked into the additional room while Beckett, giving up any hope of receiving Castle's help, inspected the windows.

"Hey look at that, there are two suitcases in there."

This remark got the detective's attention but she stayed focused on the window she had managed to pull up by a few centimeters. But the bars on the outside made it impossible to open it further. She took a look around but all she could see were trees, trees and more trees. The only useful information she got out of the window view was that they were no higher than the first floor of a building.

Back in the closet, Castle had opened one of the suitcases and had pulled out a black polo shirt.

"There are men clothes in this one... Looks like my size too," he added, putting the polo over his body to check.

He opened the second suitcase and pulled out a khaki tank top and a black bra. Rick chuckled at his discovery.

"I'd say this one is for you."

Kate looked at him and rolled her eyes in despair when she saw what he was holding up.

Instead of giving him more attention, she grabbed one of her high heels and hit the window with it—to no avail.

"Reinforced windows. Great," she commented, bleakly.

The noise she had made had managed to tear Castle away from his exploration of the suitcases.

"And now what are you trying to do exactly?"

"I'm trying to get us out Castle."

"Oh! Because this time, I swear you looked like you were trying to break your heel. And tell me detective; had you managed to break the window, what would you have done for the bars? You have a nail file in your purse or something?"

Beckett's head jerked up at his comment and she began a frenzied search of the room.

"What are you looking for?" asked Castle heading back to the closet

"My purse... If only I could find my purse..."

"Ah, Ha!"

Again, Beckett instantly turned her attention to Castle in response to his cry.

"You found it?" she asked, hopeful.

"What?" he looked up at Beckett. "Oh, your purse? No, you dropped it when they tased you," he explained nonchalantly. "But I did find your shoes if you want to change out of your pumps!"

Absorbed by his inspection of the shoe collection, Castle didn't notice Beckett who walked to him, with fire in her eyes. He only took notice when she grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him to her. The surprised expression on the writer's face came more from the sudden proximity than from the movement in itself.

"What do you mean by 'you dropped it'?" she hissed, all of her frustration and anger dangerously boiling up to the surface.

Castle swallowed hard when he finally noticed the serious look on her face.

"When those guys grabbed you, you... You dropped your purse. I guess it's still there."

She remained motionless, anger clear in her eyes, processing this new information and trying to keep calm.

"And err- why did you want your purse?" he dared ask with a timid voice.

It took her a few seconds to relax her features and sigh.

"My phone."

Defeated, she went over to the suitcases and picked up a pair of jeans, the khaki tank top and underwear. If she was stuck in a room god knows where, she should at least be comfortable.

Wordlessly she walked past Castle and locked herself in the bathroom.

Only when he heard the lock turn did Castle relax.

Following her example, he decided to get rid of his suit and put on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt instead. He carefully placed the suit on a hanger to make sure it wouldn't wrinkle... more. In doing so he took the iPhone out of the inside pocket.

Rick looked at the device, then at the bathroom door and at the phone again. Noticing that there was absolutely no service available he shrugged and slipped it in the back pocket of his borrowed pair of jeans.

When he was done getting changed he continued exploring their prison room.

He went over to the chest of drawers next to the door and opened the first drawer. Inside, he found a long, thin, black box. He opened it and let out a "oooh" when he saw what was inside. Eager to discover more treats like this one, he pulled the second drawer and found a similar box, although this one seemed bigger. He opened it as well and a huge grin appeared on his face.

He heard Kate come out of the bathroom behind him.

"Beckett you have got to see this!"

"Castle, unless you've found a way out of here I'm really not interested in your little findings."

"I can assure you you're gonna want to see this."

She sighed and tossed her dress in the closet before walking up to her partner.

"I swear Castle, if there is nothing interesting in that drawer I will shoot..." She stopped when she saw its content. "Oh."

The opened drawer and its large box were home to various guns such as a Beretta 90 and his little brother the Beretta 92. But the gun that most interested the writer was the one at the bottom of the drawer: a Stealth Hunter by Smith &Wesson.

"Do you know how fast those bullets fly?" he asked as he grabbed the weapon and spun it in his hand.

"No, I don't," answered the detective without caring much.

"Me neither!" exclaimed Castle with excitement. "But it's so... awesome!"

Castle grew very serious and turned to his partner, holding the gun à la James Bond.

"What do you think?"

Beckett made the mistake of actually looking at the man before getting her attention back to the weapons.

"Come on Beckett... Admit it, I kinda look like a 'double o seven' like this."

This time, she turned to him with a smile.

"You're right actually, I do see the resemblance..."

Castle grinned proudly.

"You definitely look like a double o... but the seven... Nope, I don't see it."

Castle's grin disappeared and appeared on Beckett's face.

With a disappointed pout, he put the gun down and noticed the rest of the contents of the drawer: namely holsters of various sorts and a silencer.

"This just gets better and better."

Kate rolled her eyes and, losing patience, yanked the first drawer open, forcing the writer to withdraw his hands from the other.

She opened the long box that waited in the drawer and uncovered a dozen sleek throwing knives resting on a red velvet cover. Beside them there were two combat knives from Gerber Mark with double blades. Kate took one of the knives in her hand and examined it, sliding the razor sharp blade against her palm. Despite the lethal nature of the weapon, she couldn't help but admire its craftsmanship. When she put the weapon back in place she noticed by the box of series of harnesses and pouches to hold the knives.

"What the hell is this place!" she complained out loud.

Beckett was clearly frustrated. Frustrated that she had fallen into a trap and had let herself be captured. Frustrated that she didn't know where they were and how to get out. Frustrated because she only had a small weapon with her... although that had changed dramatically over the last few minutes. And frustrated precisely because she had no idea why there were weapons and clothes at their disposal!

"This has got to be a bad joke!"

She rubbed her temples, closing her eyes a moment, taking the time to cool her nerves and to think. Then she turned over to her partner.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this but... any ideas Castle?"

Castle did not hide his joy when he heard the three words. He cleared his throat and grew very serious.

"Well, since you ask... Here is what I think. Let's look at the facts: a Dutch couple who doesn't exist, found dead in their New-York hotel room..."

He started pacing across the room, one hand in his back and the other on his chin, as Beckett looked on, already regretting asking the question.

"... a secret meeting at the Opera where we are kidnapped. A five-star hotel room with bars on the windows, fully equipped with clothes and weapons at our disposal... My theory is this..."

He stopped, his back to Beckett and took a moment to gather his thoughts before turning around, a large smile spreading from ear to ear.

"... I believe we ended up in a CIA training camp!" he announced quite proud of himself.

Beckett shot him one of her looks.

Just then, they heard various clicks coming from the front door next to them and it opened slightly.

* * *

><p>Esposito hung up the phone with the delicateness of a frustrated and worried man.<p>

"I'm still getting his voicemail."

* * *

><p>When they didn't hear back from Beckett after the opera, the two partners immediately grew worried. They tried to call both their cells but got no answers. So they headed back to the Opera.<p>

When they reached the opera house, about twenty minutes later, the square in front of the building was almost deserted. Ryan quickly saw Beckett's purse and her cellphone on the floor.

They had questioned the few people who had stuck around and those working in the building and had received confirmation of what they feared but didn't dare believe: their friends and colleagues had been kidnapped by men in a black van. No one was able to describe the kidnappers other than saying they wore black and no one had taken down the license plate of the van.

CSU was brought in and they managed to lift off tire tracks from the street. But when they had run them into the system, they had gotten multiple results... that particular type of tires was one of the most common on SUVs.

Ryan and Esposito had gone back to the precinct, ready to pull an all-nighter and to stay at their desks until their friends came back safe and sound.

They had called the captain who had immediately returned to the precinct as well.

Together, they reluctantly agreed that they couldn't alert anyone about Beckett and Castle's disappearance. If they worked under the assumption that they were still alive because of their fake identities, they couldn't risk blowing their cover up.

The only people they did need to warn however where Alexis and Martha and the captain had left the precinct to go do just that.

Ryan and Esposito meanwhile had spent the night at the office, frustrated by the fact that they couldn't get much work done in the middle of the night.

They had decided to focus instead on the double homicide, thinking that at least finding out their identities could help them figure out what had happened to their colleagues. Although so far, they had come up empty handed.

And all night long they had tried calling Castle's phone but never managed to get through to him.

* * *

><p>Ryan also hung up his phone.<p>

"I managed to get a hold of the opera manager. He's gonna send the footage from last night... maybe we'll get lucky for once and get _some_ kind of lead!"

Because Esposito had left a message on her voice mail, Lanie arrived at the wee hours of the morning with two coffees in one hand and a paper in the other.

"Any news?" she asked somewhat breathless, a sign that she had been running.

"Nothing so far," answered Esposito sadly.

"And you? You've got anything for us?"

She handed them both their coffees, which they warmly thanked her for and then gave the sheet she was holding to Ryan.

"Toxicology report on our two lovers. Those two had a _really_ painful death. They were poisoned with strychnine."

Ryan and Esposito both looked at her, clueless.

"What now?"

"Strychnine. I'll spare you the chemical and technical details but basically our killer gave them a heavy dose... Offering them a painful but relatively quick death."

"How quick?"

"Well they probably felt the first symptoms within minutes of ingesting the poison, but I'd say they suffered from cardio-respiratory arrest about thirty minutes later. Without any medical aid, they had no chance of survival."

"And you call that quick," commented Esposito.

"This poison can torture you for some three hours before killing you... _painfully_. So yeah, I call that a quick death for those two. In any case, I can tell you one thing about your killer, with that kind of poison... He is a pro!"


	5. The Riddle

**Now we get to the heart of the story ! Also, the chapters get longer and longer from here on out...**

**_Wingss_, thank you for making this story readable! **

* * *

><p><strong>PARTY OF TWO<strong>

**CHAPTER 4 : THE RIDDLE**

Castle and Beckett looked at each other and both read in the other the same desire to see what was behind the door. The writer was the first one to make a move, ready to explore this mysterious place. But no sooner had he reached the door than Beckett grabbed his sleeve and yanked him back. He groaned in protest but she gestured for him to stay behind her.

Kate was more cautious, she only peeked her head out of the door. When she saw that the corridor was empty, she stepped completely out of the room, with Castle hot on her heels. The second they stepped out, another door opened to their left and a large, tall man came out of it. Reflexively, Beckett put a hand to block Castle's way and somewhat shield him from any potential harm. The man eyed the couple for only a split second and turned his back on them wordlessly. He reached a double door at the end of the corridor and disappeared behind it.

Beckett looked back at Castle.

"Strange," she simply commented as the writer looked around the corridor, his curiosity piqued.

He noted that the corridor matched their room in terms of luxury. In fact if it weren't for the bars on the windows, it really looked like they were spending a nice little vacation in a high-end hotel.

"Ready to take a look around, Katlijn, darling?" asked Castle with a beaming smile.

But his smile disappeared when he saw Beckett's look.

"Darling?"

"What? We're married, we have to be convincing!"

She groaned at the thought of playing pretend with the writer.

"You better watch it, Castle," she warned nonetheless.

Before they could start one of their infamous arguments about their pretend marriage and their pretend future divorce, a woman appeared in the corridor and started walking towards them.

She was blonde, fit, about five feet six and wore a pair of black jeans and a black leather jacket under which one could guess was a white tank top. Her eyes were hidden under sunglasses. As an added accessory, the woman also wore a gun hung at her belt. Beckett recognized it as a Sig Sauer P226 Equinox.

It seemed this place had as many, if not more, weapons per square feet as in a precinct. The woman gave the couple more attention than the previous man. She looked at them, intrigued, before shrugging it off and continuing on to the double door.

When she walked passed them, Castle's head followed the movement, eyeing her curves appreciatively.

"This place just gets better and better."

Beckett's reaction was very much in character as she pinched the writer's arm. He emitted a high-pitched sound in response.

Kate decided right there and then that if she were stuck in this pretend situation with the writer, she might as well have some fun with him.

"Come on _kitten_, let's go look around," she said, walking off with a smirk.

"Hey! I thought we agreed you'd never call me kitten again," complained Castle as he followed her to the double doors.

"Alright. But we're married, so I still need to find you a pet name."

"Anything but kitten," implored the writer.

"Anything huh?"

The writer grew extremely worried when the detective stopped and scratched her head thoughtfully.

"Oh, I've got a good one…"

"And I'm scared."

"Honey-bear."

"Are you kidding me?"

"What? You don't wanna play anymore?"

He sighed heavily and looked up to Beckett.

"I want a divorce."

Before his pretend wife could reply, a man appeared out of nowhere.

"Looks like there's trouble in paradise…"

"He gets grumpy when he's hungry," replied Beckett with a large smile and a side-look to her partner.

"I see. All the more reason to go…there," he said pointing to the double door and heading towards it.

Beckett and Castle looked at each other and shrugged at the same time.

"Might as well go see what's behind that door."

As they walked down the corridor, Beckett noticed a name printed on the door next to theirs.

"Bully… I know that name…" she mused.

"What did you say?"

"I've seen that name somewhere," she explained pointing to the plaque, "but I can't remember where…"

"A colleague maybe?"

"No."

"Friend."

"No."

"An ex boyfriend?"

"Definitely not."

"Humm… ex girlfriend maybe?"

Beckett rolled her eyes and kept walking.

"Oh wait, I know!"

She stopped and turned around, waiting to hear his brilliant idea, but was soon reminded of who she was working with.

"The name of a male stripper."

She gave him the mandatory dark look but before she could add words to it, Castle doubled back and jogged down the corridor.

"What on earth are you doing… honey?"

A few moments later Castle came back, looking very proud.

"We may not know who Bully is, but I can tell you that the pretty blonde is named Val and we, darling, are Trigger and Vendetta…. Cool, right?"

"Cool?" she repeated with a sigh. "I don't know what annoys me the most—being stuck in the middle of nowhere or being stuck in the middle of nowhere with you."

She shook her head and continued to the double door. Castle feigned being hurt before following her.

Past the double doors, they discovered a large room. At the center there was a long table, big enough to sit a dozen people around it. The large man they had seen earlier was sitting in one of the chairs, reading a piece of paper. Beckett observed him a moment, he had come out of the door tagged "Bully" so she tried to remember why his name sounded familiar and if his face – a round, bald head and deep blue eyes which contrasted with the rest of his rough appearance – would spark up a memory. But nothing came to her.

The blonde woman and the other man they had seen earlier in the corridor were also sitting at the table, looking at the same piece of paper in turn.

Beckett looked around the rest of the room. In the back there was a kitchen with a sizeable fridge, an oven and a stove. In another corner she saw a TV set, resting on a cabinet made of oak.

When Castle saw what the detective was looking at he leaned over and whispered in her ear:

"I'm sure there are DVDs in there…"

Beckett simply ignored him.

"Maybe even porn," he mused louder.

"Honey-bear?" she called sweetly. "Shush," she added sternly.

Castle leaned over to her once more and whispered:

"You know, if you insist on using a nickname I think I'd prefer 'Moby Dick.'"

Kate's eyes travelled up and down the writer's body before answering with a smirk:

"I'll stick to honey-bear."

Castle pouted and walked away from his snarky wife to go explore the room and its various contents. Meanwhile, Beckett went to the table that seemed to attract everyone.

After looking around the room, Castle eyed the fridge longingly and the cabinet curiously in turn… Unable to decide which to explore first, he opted for the easiest solution:

"_Eeny, Meeny, miny, moe…_" he started in his head.

The choice landed on the cabinet. He walked to it nonchalantly, eyeing the group at the table to make sure no one was looking. When he was close, he grabbed both handles and in one swift movement, opening it. His explorer's instincts were greatly crushed when he discovered the cabinet was empty, save for a couple of spiders he had disturbed in their sleep.

He looked up at the TV set instead and pressed the 'power' button. But his disappointment grew ever more when his action had no effect.

"Oh come on!" he pressed the button once more. "What's the point of putting a TV if it doesn't work." He hit the monitor a few times. "I'm gonna have to have a word with the manager…"

To recover from these let-downs, he decided to head for the fridge.

In the meantime, Beckett had managed to get a hold of the piece of paper and stared at it in disbelief when she read the first words.

On his way to the fridge, Castle stopped in front of a cupboard and opened it with less zeal than the first time. Except now, his search wasn't so vain. Inside were a series of dusty old books, a board game that probably pre-dated World War II and a deck of cards. He picked it up and slid it in his pocket.

"_Might come in handy_," he thought with a side-look to his partner.

As he made his way to the fridge, the bald man otherwise known as "Bully," stood up from his chair, effectively blocking Castle's way. Both men looked at each other a moment, the writer trying desperately to look tough. Bully broke eye contact first and simply walked out of the room. Rick let out the breath he had been holding and relaxed his shoulders.

He finally reached the fridge and his eyes lit up when he saw its contents. In fact he was so absorbed by his inventory of the food that he didn't hear Beckett trying to get his attention.

Giving up on trying to call him the detective got up from her chair and went to the writer's side.

"Oh, good timing love, look at all the food in there. Hungry?"

"We've got more urgent matters…" she stated grimly.

"More interesting than this fine piece of smoked ham," continued the writer, oblivious to the detective's tone and tensed attitude, "than this authentic parmesan cheese, than this…"

"You done yet?" she interrupted, irritated.

"Alright, what's up Mrs Van Der… Van Der… Van Der what?" he asked in a whisper.

"Braun. Van Der Braun."

"Right. Couldn't they have come up with an easier fake name?"

Beckett gave Castle an icy cold look and he obediently closed the fridge door.

Behind them, a chair scratched on the floor as the other man they had met earlier got up and left the room, leaving behind the blonde who had had such an impact on the writer.

In order to stick to his character and take his revenge on Beckett's various killjoy moments, Castle put an arm behind the detective's back.

She immediately stiffened when she felt his hand caress her back and land on her shoulder, drawing her closer. Inside, she was conflicted between kicking him in the jewels and getting her glock out. But she maintained a professional attitude and smiled a dry smile, her body tense.

Castle chuckled, amused and leaned over to her ear, whispering hotly:

"You wanted to tell me something…"

She turned her face so they were inches from each other and adopted the same tone.

"Yeah… Get your hand off me before I break it," she seethed menacingly.

The writer immediately withdrew and Beckett picked up the piece of paper from the table, shoving it to his face.

"Look at what I found."

He beamed when he started reading the letter, the first words comforting him in his idea that this was a CIA training camp. After saying it so many times, maybe this time he'd be right.

"This is awesome…" he started saying after reading the first words.

Beckett snatched the letter away from him and gave him a meaningful look, urging him to keep his CIA theory for himself before handing him the paper again.

Castle read it attentively: _orienteering, agility, strategy, dexterity, resistance, precision and appearances are everything you need to survive. Come out and play. Ten now… Seven tonight._

The couple looked at each other but before they could comment on the content of the letter, the blonde woman got up and addressed them.

"So you two are the infamous Trigger and Vendetta, huh?"

"Maybe…" answered Castle mysteriously.

Beckett gave him an incredulous side-look as Val walked around the table towards them.

"Well you're the only two here who act like a couple so… I don't think I'm wrong."

"No, in fact you're not," confirmed Kate with a forced smile. She couldn't help not liking this woman.

"Your reputation precedes you…"

"Oh really?" asked Castle, intrigued.

"And you are?" inquired Kate matter-of-factly.

The woman didn't answer right away, busy as she was checking out the writer's body from head to toe appreciatively, an attitude that only increased Beckett's dislike of her.

"They call me Val," she finally answered looking at Beckett. "Listen, would love to stay and chat but, as you know, we've got better things to do and… I hate losing so…" she turned around, walking away, "see you in the field."

The blonde disappeared behind another double door on the other side of the room.

Kate followed her, figuring it might take them outside the building. Indeed, she pushed it and saw a flight of stairs leading down. She was about to take another step when she felt something missing and turned around. Castle had gone back to the kitchen.

"Are you coming or what?" she called impatiently.

Castle closed the door of the cupboard he had opened and came running to her side, an apple in his mouth, another in his hand.

"Figured we could use these," he said, handing her the fruit.

"Oh." She took the apple and looked up at Castle, her eyes softening for the first time since they had woken up that morning. "Thank you."

* * *

><p>When the couple exited the building, they saw what Beckett had already, sadly, noted earlier- they were surrounded by trees.<p>

Castle turned around to have a decent look at their 'prison.'

The building resembled a giant, luxurious log cabin, with its beautiful shades of brown. It fit perfectly in the middle of the green landscape surrounding it. The 'hotel' was only two stories high but very long and Castle noted there was clearly a large room to the right they hadn't yet explored.

He turned back around and looked at his partner. They were clearly both at a loss as to what they were meant to do and where they were meant to go.

They were about to go back to their hotel when Val appeared from between the trees and called to them.

"It's that way," she told them, pointing to the direction she'd come from before disappearing into the trees again.

"She's nice," noted Castle with a smile.

"Nice? We have no idea who she is or what she wants."

"True. But she did tell us where to go, didn't she? I find that nice."

"Yeah… And for all we know, it could be a trap."

Nonetheless, Beckett started off in the direction indicated by Val, with Castle not far behind.

They followed a path that lead them deep into the thick forest. As they looked around, they couldn't help but admire the beauty of the place and for a few moments they forgot the circumstances that had brought them there. The path took them to a little stream, glistening under the bright sun. In any other situation the place would have been extremely romantic.

"There's nothing here," sighed Beckett, leaning against a tree.

"Nothing? Do you not see the lush forest, the running stream; hear the chirping of the birds and he whistling of the wind? This place is… magic!" exclaimed Castle with excitement.

Beckett rubbed her temples in irritation.

"Instead of commenting on the place could you _please_ help me find a clue here!"

"Actually… I think I just did," replied Castle while pointing at a hole in the rock that the steam slowly flowed out of.

Beckett went over to the rock and picked up a metal box. Inside, they found another piece of paper, which read: _Head north and follow the bears. Enjoy your time with us. Be back in your rooms before the complines or you will be removed."_

"A riddle I love it!" exclaimed Castle, as excited as ever.

Beckett rolled her eyes and placed the paper back in the box and in the rock.

"Am I the only one worried about the word 'removed'?"

"Yes well, it doesn't really matter what we've gotten ourselves into anymore, we can't do much about it, so what's the point in worrying?" explained Castle. "Let's just roll with it for now and see what happens. What do you think, Vendetta? Oh, I like it, it suits you…"

"Vendetta?"

"Yeah, we've got to get into character. You're Vendetta, remember?"

"And what makes you think I'm Vendetta and you're Trigger? Why not the other way around?"

Castle stared at her blankly a moment, thinking this one through.

"'Cuz Vendetta suits you better," he stated with a nod to give weight to his words.

Beckett chose not to answer to that and watched as the writer started pacing around her, thinking about the riddle.

"Okay so… 'be back before the complines'… that one is easy. In the Middle Age the complines were the last prayers of the day that took place before sunset."

"Right, so we've got 'til sunset to _enjoy our time and follow the bears_… Fantastic," said Kate bitterly.

"Show a little optimism, love."

With those joyful words, Castle started his walk to the north and Beckett followed him, hoping the writer knew what he was doing. But a few minutes later, Castle stopped abruptly causing Kate to almost bump into him.

"Why are you stopping?"

Castle turned to her, perplexed and pointed ahead of them.

"The north is that way right?"

When he saw his partner's face he quickly added:

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding! I know where it is."

* * *

><p>As they walked past a beautiful oak tree, something caught Castle's eye in the distance. They were too far off to see what it was exactly, and before Castle could walk to this dark figure he'd seen in the bush, he jumped at a foreign noise. More precisely, it was the noise of his cellphone ringing. When Beckett heard the sound she swirled around to face the writer.<p>

"Oh wow, I actually have a signal here," he commented reaching behind him.

"What? You had your phone with you and you didn't tell me?"

"Well I... There were no bars on my phone so I figured... Why bother you with that. And then with the knives, the guns, the riddle and all that...I kinda... forgot." He shrugged sheepishly, hoping she'd spare his life.

"Un-freaking-believable."

Castle looked at the phone.

"It's Esposito..." he tentatively handed the phone to her. "You want to talk to him?" he asked with a small voice.

Beckett yanked the phone from his hand and picked up.

"While you do that I'm gonna..." he looked around, "go somewhere...else...where... you're not," he concluded seeing her angry look.

"Beckett," greeted the detective on the phone.

"About time!" came Esposito's voice, "I'm so glad to hear your voice, you have no idea!"

"Same here Esposito..." she eyed the writer who was looking at trees, "same here."

"And where's Castle?"

"Hunting bears."

There was a moment of silence on the other line as Esposito and Ryan – who was listening on speakerphone – looked at each other, perplexed.

"So what happened? Are you two okay?"

"Yeah we're fine. We were kidnapped after the opera, ended up in some unknown cabin in the middle of a huge forest, we've got all kinds of clothes and weapons at our disposal and right now I suspect we're taking part in a live human hunt. Awesome."

"Why didn't you pick up the phone earlier?"

"There must be some kind of scrambler around the building. It seems it doesn't extend to the whole forest."

"Where you are... hunting bears?" commented Esposito, still perplexed.

"Or being hunted," commented Kate looking around cautiously. "Listen, can you run the names Trigger and Vendetta in the database for me?"

"Sure. Who's that?"

"I suspect that's our two victims' nicknames. Find anything you can on those names. I'll call you back as soon as we can, hopefully you'll have some more information to get us out of here."

"Count on it."

"In the meantime we'll try to survive this mess and do a little investigating. I have a feeling our murderer might be around."

"Alright. Be careful guys."

When Beckett hung up, she turned off the phone to preserve the battery and went looking for Castle who had gone out of sight.

* * *

><p>While Beckett was on the phone, Castle had walked off and disappeared from view without really noticing he'd gone so far. He was about to turn around when he noticed the dark figure that had caught his eyes before his phone had distracted him.<p>

He cautiously stepped closer to it, praying there wouldn't be a bear hiding in that bush. He picked up the branches covering the mass and...

"What the hell!"

He jumped back when he discovered a dead body lying in the bush. He covered his mouth, fighting back the urge to throw up and waited a second for his heart to slow down to a normal beat. The body he had uncovered was that of a man, in his forties who had been stabbed in the abdomen and in the heart. Castle winced, getting a strange feeling of uneasiness all of the sudden.

He was about to turn around to find Beckett when he felt a sharp pain in the back: someone had knocked him in the back of his head. Dazed, he fell down on his knees. He tried to get back up but his aggressor wrapped a rope around his neck. Castle's reflexes were quick enough to allow him to slide his hands between the rope and his neck but he knew he couldn't hold out long. The mysterious man behind him remained silent as he tightened the rope around the writer's hand and neck. Breathing became extremely strenuous. Castle felt his body starting to go numb and his vision became unusually foggy. He was about to give up and pass out when he heard a shot in the air. The grip around his neck was released and he fell face down on the grass.

Kate lowered her gun and ran to the man she had just shot, checking for his pulse. There was none. Putting her gun down, she started CPR on the man, hoping to save his life but also to get some information out of him.

But despite her best efforts, she couldn't bring him back. Sitting back on her heels, she tried her best to push her feelings down. She hated to have to shoot a man, especially shoot to kill. But she hadn't had much of a choice; she hadn't even taken the time to think. It was his life or Castle's. There was in fact nothing to think about.

Yet she couldn't help but feel guilty. Why had she aimed for his chest? Why not his shoulder? She could have shot to injure rather than to kill. So why didn't she?

Hearing Castle's cough behind her snapped her out of her thoughts. She took her hands off the man's chest. They were stained with his blood and she wiped them on her jeans as she got up.

As Castle was slowly getting air back into his lungs, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Beckett standing above him, her bloody hands holding her glock. Judging by her expression she'd been as scared he had been.

"Are you okay?" she asked, worried.

After taking a few more deep breaths, Castle was able to answer.

"Yeah. Thanks for..." he nudged toward the man.

"Who was he?"

"No idea. He forgot to tell me his name while trying to kill me. People can be so rude!"

"What about him?" she asked pointing to the first victim.

"No idea either. He refused to answer my questions."

"Can you be serious for just a minute?" chastised Beckett, obviously still tense.

"Right now? No, sorry. Someone just tried to kill me, and humor... It's how I deal."

"Well, when we're done 'dealing' you let me know..."

Beckett turned on her heels and Castle sat against a nearby tree, recomposing himself. He observed his partner as she went back to the man she had shot to save his life. She seemed utterly distressed, although in good Beckett fashion she tried very hard to hide it.

"By the way, I know where we're supposed to go."

"Yeah? You found inspiration while getting strangled?"

"Well, actually...yeah. Everything appeared a lot clearer for a moment."

"Okay... so what?"

"You know how the riddle says to follow the bears? I think I know what it means."

"I'm all ears."

"Well we know that bears have a tendency to rub against trees right? So we follow the trees that have these kinds of marks on them."

As he explained it, he got up and pointed toward a nearby tree, which had clearly been scratched.

"I noticed another one up ahead when I was on my knees. I think we're on the right track."

Castle started to walk off and turned to Beckett who was not moving.

"Shall we?"

"The bodies..."

"...Are not going anywhere. I say we finish this thing and make sure we're not 'removed' before we worry about them."

Beckett looked at the two dead men and joined Castle on the path to the north.

* * *

><p>A good hour later, they reached a very small cabin hidden between the trees. Both Castle and Beckett were equally happy to see the cabin, hoping it signified the end of this little adventure. Their trip in the forest hadn't exactly been a walk in the park. Although as they got closer to it they noticed it looked completely abandoned.<p>

"What? No all-you-can-eat buffet? No finish line? No band and confetti?" complained Castle.

"I could have done with water too," added Beckett, exhausted.

They walked around the cabin, looking at the trees to make sure the trail didn't continue off somewhere. But there were no more scratched trees.

"Well, this must be it then," concluded Castle.

"How can we be sure though?"

Castle didn't have time to answer that a recorded voice came out from the cabin.

"You have completed this heat. Now go back to the hotel before the complines."

The couple looked at each other, perplexed.

"Seriously? That's it?" complained Castle once more.

He had obviously expected something more and walked to the cabin, looking for a way in.

"Let's just go Castle. I'm hungry and I'm tired."

With a disappointed pout, the writer followed Kate as they headed back south to their temporary 'hotel.'

As they walked back, Kate made sure that they returned to where they had left the two bodies earlier. But as they reached the place where they should have been, they found absolutely nothing. They walked around the place, thinking they had gotten the location wrong, but found nothing still. There was absolutely no sign that two dead bodies lay there a few hours earlier.

"This is odd."

"Not really."

"Yeah? Two dead bodies that just disappear aren't odd to you?"

"No, especially since we're in a training camp for..."

"Oh no you don't!" she cut him off mid-sentence, clearly expecting three very specific letters.

"Alright, fine! But you'll see that I'm right about this one."

Castle resumed their walk back to the hotel but Beckett held him back.

"Hold on. I want to call Esposito before we go back there. See if they've got anything for us."

"Okay, well I'm going back."

"Oh no you don't! You stay right here. I don't want a repeat of earlier. You stay in my sight or this time I'll strangle you myself, got it?"

Castle stopped in his track and remained as still as a rock while Beckett took the phone out.

"Think I'll ever get it back?" muttered Castle when he saw the device.

Beckett signaled for him to shut it.

"And make it quick, we're running out of time."

The detective ignored him and turned her back to him.

"Beckett!" greeted Esposito on the line, "I was waiting for your call."

"You've got anything for me?"

"Right. Well we didn't find anything..."

"Damnit!" she cut him.

"Hold on. We didn't find anything here, in the U.S. But Ryan had the idea of contacting Europol and we got lucky. Trigger and Vendetta are contract killers who operate – so far – solely in Europe. Trigger, also known as Andreas Van Der Braun or a series of other equally colorful names is from England. He is said to be an expert in guns and pistols. Vendetta, on the other hand, that you know as Katljin is French and she has a mean reputation with knives."

"Contract killers. Of course. It makes sense. Thank you Esposito. I'll call you back as soon as I can."

"Be careful Beckett."

The detective hung up and handed the phone back to Castle after turning it off.

"Did I hear right? Contract killers?" he repeated, clearly excited at the idea.

Kate rolled her eyes and led the way back to the hotel.

Castle followed her closely, already spinning various scenarios in his head.

After a while they saw the hotel in the distance.


	6. Close Quarters

**A/N: This was kind of one of my favorite chapters to write ^_^ Also, you might have noticed the chapters get longer and longer... They will keep getting longer until chapter 11. Be warned.**

* * *

><p><strong>PARTY OF TWO<strong>

**CHAPTER 5 : CLOSE QUARTERS**

The second she stepped into their room, Kate grabbed the rim of her tank top and pulled it off, not caring the least about the man following her and his stare. She just needed to take off these clothes, get rid of the dried blood that soiled her. Throwing her top on the floor she walked to the bathroom, already unbuttoning her jeans, and leaving her shoes in the middle of the room. As soon as she entered the bathroom, her jeans dropped to the floor and she kicked the door closed behind her. She took off her underwear and went into the oversized shower. She opened both taps and placed herself under the hot water, vigorously scrubbing her body, turning the water that dripped down her body into a red pool.

* * *

><p>Castle looked at his watch. It had half an hour since she had gone into the bathroom. He put the weapon he had been playing with back in its drawer and went to the bathroom door. He could still hear the water running. He was about to knock to check on her but decided against it, giving her the time she needed to deal with whatever was bothering her so much. He looked at his watch again. He was hungry and wondered if some sort of dinner would be served.<p>

He went to one of the nightstands and searched its drawers. Not finding what he was looking for, he searched the second nightstand but what he wanted wasn't there either. Frustrated, he tried the desk's drawers, but nothing turned up there either. His stomach growled. Apparently there was no room service around these parts. He took a moment to think, then looked over at the bathroom door where he could still hear water running. With a resolute face, he headed out the room.

* * *

><p>Kate came out of the shower exhausted. She had managed to wash off the blood from her body but the images that invaded her mind were still there.<p>

Why on earth was she so distraught over the death of this one man? She had already shot to kill in the past. She didn't like it, never had, but she had never felt so at a loss before. Those images kept flashing before her eyes: Castle down on his knees, the man strangling him, Castle in distress, a gunshot, Castle gasping for air, the man falling on the floor... She had acted on instinct. Kill or be killed. Protect Castle. She hadn't taken the time to think. She had reacted, just... reacted.

She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around the torso, taking a second one to dry her wet hair.  
>When she had absorbed most of the water, she straightened and looked at her reflection in mirror for the first time. She grimaced and let out a sigh.<br>Then, as though struck with realization, she turned her head to the door and looked at the towel wrapped around her body.

"Shit!"

She gripped the towel firmly in one hand, not taking the risk to have it fall off at the most inopportune time and went to the door. She only put her head out first, looking for Castle. She was surprised when she didn't see him on the bed, playing with a gun like she had expected. She stepped out and turned to the other side of the room only to stop dead in her tracks.

Castle _was_ there.

He was sitting on the couch. On the coffee table in front of him, she saw two plates each containing a pizza, four bottles of beer, and on the side, a glass filled with water in which Castle had placed a rather dead-looking rose.

She remained still, surprised to see him and surprised to see this dinner waiting for her. She also noted that Castle had turned to the window the second she had appeared, looking extremely fascinated by the trees outside. She smiled, somewhat touched by this gesture.

Without a word she headed into the closet and picked out a pair of gray sweat pants and a white t-shirt.

When she came back out, Castle was finishing cutting the first pizza. He dropped his knife, taking one of the bottles of beer instead, and opened it before handing it to her.

"After a day like today, I think we deserve this."

She smiled and gladly accepted the bottle, sitting down on the couch, a leg wrapped under her.

"Thank you, Castle."

* * *

><p>A pizza and two beers later, Beckett seemed to have relaxed some and although she would never forget the face of the man she had shot - a face that was now hung in the gallery of those she'd killed before - she had managed to push down the memory of the event enough to move forward.<p>

"D'you think if we leave our plates out in the corridor they'll come pick it up, like in a real hotel?"

"I doubt it, Castle." She got up and grabbed the plates. "But since you got dinner, I'll bring those back."

He looked at his watch.

"Don't take too long detective, the doors are gonna close soon."

She looked at her own watch and noticed she had a good half hour ahead of her.

"I think I can manage," she commented with a smile.

* * *

><p>When Beckett returned to the room she found Castle in a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, undoing the king-sized bed.<p>

"What are you doing?" she asked stepping to the other side of the bed.

"I'm preparing the bed."

She stared at him.

"What?"

"Castle, don't even think for a second that you and I are sharing a bed."

"But..."

"And I'm not taking the couch!"

He looked over at said couch which did look comfortable enough but certainly not as comfortable as the double bed. He pouted like a child who couldn't get any dessert.

"Stop that, Castle."

She drew the covers back and he gave her puppy-dog eyes.

"Keep dreaming."

She opened the drawer behind her and picked up one of the combat knives that she placed on the nightstand before laying her glock under her pillow. He tentatively tried to draw the covers on his side.

"Castle, you put one foot in this bed and your male attributes are going to get acquainted with this knife."

He swallowed hard and looked at the menacing knife with apprehension.  
>Then he yanked the blanket in a swift motion, leaving only the sheet.<p>

"Fine! But I'm taking the blanket."

She opened her mouth to protest but thought against it. Instead she grabbed a pillow and threw it with her legendary delicateness to his face.

"And Castle?" he turned around, holding blanket and pillow over his torso as protection. "I'm a _very_ light sleeper."

Castle settled down in his makeshift bed, grumbling. Beckett was about to slide under the sheet, but she turned to the writer.

"One last thing..." He turned to her, expecting another warning, another rule. "Thank you for dinner," she finished with a warm smile.

Then she slid under the sheet and turned off the light.

He observed her as she turned left and right to find the perfect position, a smile on his lips.

"No, thank _you,_" he replied in a whisper she couldn't hear.

* * *

><p>The following day, the doors once again opened automatically, at nine this time, and after getting dressed the couple headed to the dining room.<p>

They found Val who was finishing up a plate that must have contained toasts before. There was also another woman and a man they had never seen before. The woman was rather petite, with short red hair; she looked completely harmless and so ordinary that if Beckett hadn't known she and Castle were surrounded by assassins, she wouldn't have given her a second look. The other man, however, caught her attention immediately. Mostly because of the way he was looking at her—she wasn't sure if he was trying to seduce her or intimidate her. In any case she felt a shiver roll down her spine and unconsciously drew closer to her partner. The man didn't seem very tall but he was definitely well built; he had a tattoo that traveled down his right bicep and she noticed a scar along his collarbone.

Beckett noticed another piece of paper on the table and took a chair next to it as Castle headed, unsurprisingly, to the kitchen.

Kate frowned when she started reading the first lines and was interrupted by Val's voice.

"Worried for your man?"

She lifted her eyes up to the woman sitting in front of her.

"Should I be?" she asked dryly.

"Oh... you should," replied the blonde with a tone that was more seductive than threatening.

"He can handle himself," she stated with as much assurance as she could muster.

Val smiled and got up, but not before asking:

"And what about you?"

Beckett immediately got her attention back to the paper and read on. As she got to the end of it, her face had gone grim and the double doors opened. Bully stepped into the room nonchalantly and she observed him as he grabbed a bottle of juice from the fridge.

She put the paper back on the table for others to read and got up to see Castle who was in front of the stove, a spatula in one hand and a pan handle in the other.

"What are you...?"

"Ah! Good timing! Can you hand me two plates?"

She looked at the scrambled eggs in the pan, then at Castle and at the eggs again. She smiled and went looking for two plates that she brought to him. When she put them on the counter she noticed two mugs filled with a black liquid she had missed oh so terribly!

"Is this...?"

"Grande skim latte," he answered with a proud smile on his face. "Except they didn't have any vanilla so I put two pumps of regular sugar instead."

She gratefully took the mug and brought it to her lips, a moan of pleasure escaping her as the hot liquid went down her throat.  
>In the meantime, Castle grabbed the two plates and went to the table, but she stopped him.<p>

"Let's go eat that in our room, _honey,_" she suggested, pulling on his arm.

He stared at her and blinked, completely taken aback by the proposal. He noticed the looks of the other guests in the room and smiled knowingly with a smug air before following Beckett.

"But of course, my love..."

Once they reached the room, Beckett closed the door while Castle went to lay the plates on the table.

"So, honey... Any plans for breakfast?" he asked seductively.

Beckett rolled her eyes and walked to the couch.

"You know, I think it would be good to mingle with the crowd, get to know the other guests."

"Castle, how many times do I have to tell you that we're not here on vacation?"

"I mean to investigate!" he corrected while seating down. "We need to know who our enemies are, and maybe find our killer..."

"Castle, what do you know about close quarter combat?" interrupted Beckett as she sat beside him.

He raised an eyebrow in question and swallowed a forkful of eggs. He then opened his mouth to speak and closed it. He opened it again, closed it.

"I'll take that as a 'nothing'."

He looked at her and swallowed another bite.

"Pretty much. Why?"

"Apparently that's the 'game' of the day."

"We have to fight?"

Despite his lack of knowledge in that area, the writer definitely sounded excited.

"This afternoon, yes. Close quarter combat. And you're gonna like this... Your adversary is none other than the pretty blonde you like so much."

"Val?"

This time, his excitement was also tinted with a good dose of apprehension—something that Beckett picked up on.

"Worried?"

"Me?" He put his hand on his chest and puffed "Never!"

Beckett nodded and went back to eating her eggs in silence. A few mouthfuls later, Castle turned to his partner.

"Could you teach me how to fight, Kate?"

Beckett hid her smile. She expected this request to come one mouthful later. She took one last bite of eggs and emptied her coffee mug before getting up.

"I need to get changed." She examined Castle who was wearing jeans and a buttoned up shirt. "And so do you."

She went into their closet and picked out a large, maroon pair of pants and a beige t-shirt and threw them to the writer.

"You take the bathroom."

* * *

><p>Castle landed miserably on the carpet with a groan. Beckett gave him a hand to get up.<p>

"You're tough on me detective."

"Oh, because you think Val will be kind to you in the ring?"

Castle bent down over his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"Could we take a break?"

They had been training for over an hour, during which time Beckett had tried to teach the writer how to block incoming attacks and send a few of his own, but so far he wasn't making a lot of progress. They were both sweating and panting... Castle more so than Beckett.

"We'll take a break when you stop losing."

They got back in position, facing each other.

"Let's try again. And this time, stay sharp and don't let me corner you."

Beckett made the first move and threw her right fist to his face. He blocked it as well as the left fist she had immediately thrown his way. She smiled. That was better than nothing.

"Alright. Now attack me."

He tried to punch her with his right fist as well, but his movement was so slow that Beckett grabbed his arm, pushed it aside, took a step closer to him and kicked her knee up into his abdomen. Too quickly for Castle to realize what was happening, she had her hand around his throat and she swept his feet off the floor, bringing him down. She went down with him, still holding him by the throat and put a knee on his chest. He coughed.

"Seriously? That's what you call attacking?"

She let go of him and got up. He groaned and got back on his feet, trying to pick up the little dignity he had left along the way.

"Castle, we've been training for an hour and you haven't tried to attack me once. Don't tell me you don't like hitting women?"

"Well, call me old fashioned but as a matter of fact I don't. I don't think it's right to hit women."

Beckett couldn't help but smile before growing serious again.

"That's very honorable Castle, but when you're in a fight for your life you've got to forget your manners. If you don't fight back, Val will eat you alive! And even though nothing on that paper said this was an 'elimination' round. After yesterday's events, I'm not taking any chances. You got that?"

She got into position.

"So attack me!" she ordered him.

He took a deep breath and got into position as well. When he was ready, he launched on Beckett, his right arm ready to hit her in the face. But she anticipated his attack, stepped closer herself, blocking his arm mid-air and hit him with the palm on his chest, pushing him back.

"Try again," she commanded.

He took a second to catch his breath and tried attacking again, from the left this time. Beckett stopped his arm, took a step back and kicked him in the ribs, pushing him back once more.

"Again!"

He tried again, growing apprehensive now. He tried a few punches that Beckett simply avoided. She went for a knee kick but he managed to block it. He immediately followed his block with a punch to her face, which the detective only barely managed to avoid.

The surprise he saw on her face drew a large smile on his own.

"I almost got you!"

Beckett held back her own proud smile.

"Don't get too cocky. You got lucky."

They exchanged another series of hits and blocks, Castle getting better and better as time went by and their fights grew longer. But eventually Castle tired and Beckett took advantage of his weakness to kick him out of balance and he fell down on his back. She immediately jumped on him, sitting atop his chest and placed both hands on his lungs.

Castle was too stunned by his fall to react and when he finally came to, the only thing he truly noticed was Beckett, panting, on top of him, her hair undone, her skin shining from sweat. He swallowed...very hard.  
>Beckett noticed the change in the writer's eyes; his usual light blue had turned very dark. She recognized that look and felt her cheeks grow redder. She felt reassured that her reaction wouldn't be visible, given her already pink cheeks from their effort.<p>

She should have gotten up or ordered him to get her off somehow. She should have reacted, said something, but she didn't. Frozen on top of him, she could feel the rapid rise and fall of his chest under her hands, a rhythm matching her own.

A few seconds that seemed to her like an eternity went by before she snapped out of her trance. She pressed a little harder on his chest, getting a "Hmmmpf" out of him, before getting up.

"Get up Castle!" she commanded, turning her back on him and trying to regain some sort of composure.

He obeyed.

"I'm getting better, right?"

"Maybe. But you're still losing. Castle, if this were a fight to the death, you'd be six feet under already. Focus!" she reminded as much to him as to herself.

They sparred again, fatigue definitely getting to the both of them now. Beckett launched an attack, ready to crush her left fist into his jaw if he didn't block her, but their hours of training were finally paying off and he grabbed her wrist. He pulled her arm down, and put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back. Under Castle's strong grip – she had come to notice that despite his inexperience, the writer was undeniably strong – she lost her balance and he swept her off her feet. She fell hard on her back, her arm still under Castle's grip. Castle was surprised that he'd managed to topple the detective, and was unsure of what he should do next. He decided to sit on her and put his hands on her hips to try and somehow keep her pinned down.

He gave her a triumphant grin when he saw her surprised look but also her unmistakably dark eyes.

"Looks like I managed to..."

But Beckett didn't give him time to finish and she wrapped her long legs around his hips. If that hadn't been enough to surprise him, she grabbed both his forearms and pulled them forward, forcing his palms off her hips and on the carpet. He ended up on all fours, above her, Beckett's legs still around his hips. The detective immediately regretted her tactical choice when she saw Castle's face so very close to hers; close enough that she could see the lust in his eyes. But what really bothered her was that she was certain her own eyes reflected the same expression. His smirk only confirmed her suspicions.

Deciding right then and there it was time to put an end to this, she grasped Castle's left wrist and placed a foot on his right hip. She pushed his body away from her. The move allowed her to sneak one leg between their bodies and up to his head, wrapping it behind his neck. She pulled on the arm she held to bring Castle closer to her and crossed her other leg over his back. Castle ended up squashed against Beckett's chest, choking under the pressure put by her legs on his carotid artery.  
>But somehow the writer didn't seem to care about this small 'detail' so much, very much appreciating his current position. He even managed a smile and was about to utter a salacious remark when Beckett tightened her grip around his neck, depriving him of air for good and he tapped vigorously on the carpet.<p>

"Get up, right now Castle!" she ordered releasing him.

The tone of her voice and the lack of air in his lungs dissuaded him from going against her will and he got up. He held his hand out for her but she ignored it and got on her feet. Castle rubbed his soar neck and groaned.

Beckett looked at the man in front of her and held back from slapping herself.  
>She couldn't help but find him extremely attractive, all sweaty in his beige t-shirt that clung to his skin, his messed up hair, his red cheeks, his ragged breathing, all of his muscles completely tensed.<br>She bit on her lip as he lifted his head up. Their burning gazes met and they stared in silence.

"More?" asked Castle with suspicious enthusiasm.

"No. The real fight will be in a few hours. You need to rest."

She headed to the bathroom and turned around before stepping in.

"Keep practicing those moves I showed you, I need a shower."

Indeed, she walked into the bathroom, peeling off her clothes and stepped into shower. She placed herself under the showerhead and turned the tap for cold water.

* * *

><p>A good meal and a few hours later, Castle and Beckett left their room to take part in the second challenge of their little 'adventure.'<br>Castle was wearing another pair of baggy pants and a new t-shirt, both black. Beckett had opted for a similar outfit, and wore a pair of black pants and a black tank top. She had also gathered up her hair in a high ponytail.

As they came out of their room, they crossed paths with Bully who gave them a look Castle considered rather scary. He turned to his partner and saw that every muscle in her body was suddenly tense. Apparently, he wasn't the only to dislike the mountain of a man.

"This guy gives me goose bumps!" he whispered into the detective's ear.

She didn't answer, as they followed him out into the main hall where they found Val, the guy with the scar and another man they'd never seen before.  
>Upon seeing the couple, Val gave them a large smile and addressed a wink to Castle. Beckett gave her a nasty look-although the blonde had already turned her back on them-and looked over at her partner. She was slightly reassured when she saw he wasn't grinning foolishly but seemed rather worried instead.<p>

She laid a hand on his arm, calling his attention to her.

"You're gonna be okay," she reassured him.

But the anxiety that crept into her voice had the exact opposite effect.

They followed the small group to a large gym, somewhere to the left of the building. The middle of the room was covered with mats, marking the space for the fights.

"Is it too late to decide that I don't like this adventure after all?" asked Castle in a whisper.

"Just don't forget, never let your guard down and don't let her get into your defense zone."

They walked to the rest of the group waiting near the mats but, as though struck by lightning, Castle turned around to the detective and put a hand on her arm to stop her. A hand he withdrew the second he saw her disapproving look.

"By the way, you never told me who you were up against?"

"You didn't ask," she shrugged, resuming her walk.

"I..." He closed his mouth and joined her side. "Well I'm asking now. Who are you up against? Is it the redhead? Please tell me it's the redhead! Hand to hand combat between two women, sweating, panting..."

He was so preoccupied with picturing the scene he almost didn't catch Beckett's answer.

"Bully," she told him unceremoniously before getting her attention back to the group.

Castle's daydreaming was immediately shattered.

"Bully? But he's..."

Beckett didn't wait for the rest of his sentence and walked the few steps left to one corner of the 'ring.' Her eyes were cold, distant, determined.

Castle stayed back a moment, shocked by the news. The whole morning had been about him, about getting him ready. She had done everything she could to help him, to prepare him physically and mentally. Not once had he wondered about his partner's fate. He knew she was strong and a good fighter, he knew whatever adversary she had to face, she'd crush them... He had simply forgotten Bully was one of those potential opponents.

He looked over at the man in question and winced. His eyes traveled down to Bully's large hands and his heart tightened in his chest at the thought of those strong hands wrapped around his partner's neck.  
>He shook his head to make the image disappear and walked to Beckett's side.<p>

The scarred man went to the center of the ring and demanded with the hoarse voice of a compulsive smoker that the fights begin.

"Salvation, get your ass up here!" he ordered.

The dark haired man they had just met for the first time minutes ago in the main hall stepped onto the ring.

As the two men started their fight, Castle leaned over to Beckett.

"We can trade if you want," he offered in a whisper, actually half serious.

It took a moment for Beckett to come out of the trance she had gone into and to realize Castle had spoken to her, and another moment for his words and their meaning to register.  
>She only smiled at him in response and looked over at the ring once more. Then, without really asking for permission, her own hand found Castle's and held on to it. If the latter was surprised – which he probably was – he didn't show and simply tightened their grip, his eyes never leaving the ring either.<p>

The fight ended when Salvation pinned the other man to the floor, chocking him with his hands and the defeated man padded on the mat to ask for mercy. However Salvation did not let go right away, seemingly enjoying the moment very much. It's only when the scarred man fainted that he released his throat and stood up, leaving the mattresses with an utterly satisfied smile on his face.

Beckett felt Castle's hand tighten around hers and she mechanically rubbed her thumb over it._ 'It's what Katlijn would have done,_' she reasoned with herself.

Bully kindly offered his services to carry the unconscious man off the mats so the fights could continue.

In the meantime, Val walked over to the couple, smiling sensually at the writer.

"So what do you think, Trigger? Ready for a little one-on-one with me?"

All things considered, Beckett would have liked to trade adversaries, if only for a chance to wipe that arrogant grin off of the blonde's face.

"Will you lend him to me, Vendetta? I promise not to scar him... much."

Her suave voice only irritated the detective more. She gave her an icy cold smile in response and turned to Castle.  
>Rising to her tip-toes, she wrapped her arms around his neck, placing her mouth right over his ear. To anybody watching, she was giving her lover a good-luck kiss.<p>

"Don't forget, keep your guard up. And... survive," she whispered.

She stopped herself from actually dropping a kiss on the earlobe that tempted her so much and released her hold around him.

Castle immediately felt a hundred times better and the sensation of the detective's hot breath on his neck sent him to cloud nine instantly.  
>However he crashed down from that cloud the second he stepped onto the ring.<p>

"Ready?"

The blonde charged him and sent a series of punches and kicks his way that he managed to block. But obviously, Val had a lot more experience than Castle and one of her fists landed squarely on his jaw, sending him backwards, a little dazed. She took this opportunity to knee him in the stomach. He bent forward and she kneed him again in the chest. He bent further down, his face contorted with pain and she finished the job with an elbow on his back, pushing him down, flat on his face.

On the side, Beckett curled her fists into a ball, clenching her jaw in anger and pain for her partner.

The writer got up and turned around, to see Val grinning at him.

"Don't tell me that your British education forbids you to hit women," she mocked walking towards him again.

Castle chanced a glance over at Beckett who was encouraging him silently as much as she could. No, he couldn't let Val win this one; he had to fight back, if only to impress Kate.

The writer went for a right punch but Val blocked it and stepped to her left.  
>Beckett winced, anticipating the woman's next move.<br>Indeed, Val connected her left fist with Castle's jaw once more and wrapped her arm around the one she was holding. With that kind of hold, she pulled his arm back, forcing him to bend backwards in pain, until he fell down on his back. She put a knee on his chest and a hand around his neck.

"You know, you're kind of cute. It breaks my heart to scar such a pretty face."

She got back on her feet and he lay still for a moment, trying to catch his breath. He felt something drip along his lips and when he brought his hand to his mouth, he realized his lower lip was open and a trickle of blood was coming out of it. He wiped some of it off with his sleeve and got up, frustrated.

They resumed their fight and Castle tried a series of attacks that Val avoided one after the other.  
>He tried to punch her in the gut, but she grabbed his arm from the inside and stepped closer to him. He and Beckett both winced at the same time: "<em>never let your opponent step into your zone.<em>" The detective's voice rang in his head as Val dealt him a series of blows to the chest, rendering his breathing extremely difficult. When he was weak enough, she kicked his knee in the back, effectively making him loose his balance and, using her weight, she pushed him onto his back.  
>When he hit the mat, she sat on him, riding him at the neck and pressing her thighs against his throat.<br>Castle tried to push her back, to spread her legs apart, but she didn't budge. Instead she tightened them ever more, a satisfied grin spreading from ear to ear.

He turned his head slightly towards Beckett. Val followed his movement.

"You think she likes the view?"

Without releasing her legs from his neck, she threaded her fingers in his hair and traced the contours of his face with her other hand.

If Beckett had had her glock with her, she'd have shot her in a heartbeat.

Castle was still trying to wiggle his way out of the situation, kicking and twisting, but nothing worked. He was seriously starting to lack oxygen and his sight was getting blurry. When he thought he was about to pass out, the hold around his neck loosened and he felt Val's lips against his own.

"This was fun."

He felt her weight lift off of him and he took a deep, much needed breath.  
>Val left the mat and passed by Beckett's side, a winning smile on her face.<p>

"He's good."

Beckett saw red. She grabbed the blonde woman by the throat and thrust herself against her, sweeping her leg under her and bringing her to the floor. She put a knee on her chest and clutched hard around her throat. She leaned over, to be inches from the woman's face, her eyes on fire.

"Do that kind of shenanigans again and you'll take a knife between those pretty eyes of yours. You got that?"

Val's only answer was an arrogant smile and Beckett pushed her knee down on her lungs, tightening her hold on her airwaves.

"Did...you...get that?" she repeated, carefully enunciating every word.

Val's smile disappeared in a heartbeat and instead she nodded.  
>Beckett released her and got back up, just as Castle was stepping off the mats, unsteady.<br>The blonde also got up and walked away from the couple, a hand around her sore throat.

Beckett offered her body to support Castle and took him to a nearby chair. He gave her the best smile he could under the circumstances.

"That was pretty cool what you did back there."

She thought about it a moment. No, it wasn't cool. It was stupid and impulsive. But damn, it felt so good! She answered him with a smile of her own.

She put a hand on his jaw, examining the damage there.

"This is gonna leave a mark."

"Right? I'm gonna have some awesome battle wounds after this," he commented with pride.

Beckett shook her head. Now that the stress was gone, she had in front of her the reckless and fun-loving writer she knew so well.

"How do you feel?"

"Like I was rolled over by a steamroller."

"Yeah, she didn't go easy on you."

"But I held my own pretty well, right?"

Beckett gave him a pitiful smile. He had been quite bad, but never mind that.

"You know, if you wanted to kiss your wounded husband, I wouldn't be against that idea," he stated unwavering.

She placed a gentle hand on his chest and the other on the wall behind his head and leaned forward, bringing her face inches from his-so close in fact that their breaths mingled and he thought he could hear Kate's heartbeat. But as he thought his lips were going to taste hers, she deviated to the right and found his ear.

"Keep dreaming Ricky," she whispered with a sensual voice that sent a wave of pleasure down the writer's body. It was an interesting method to make him forget about his wounds.

Behind them, the fight between the small redhead and some blonde man was coming to an end, the blonde man having knocked the petite redhead unconscious. Once again, Bully carried her body out.

"Actually, in my dreams you..."

His confession was interrupted by Bully's voice behind them.

"Looks like it's just you and me left, sweetheart."

Beckett's attitude changed radically at the words. She straightened herself up, body tensed and jaw clenched.

"I can go punch him if you want," offered Castle, trying to loosen her up.

It worked and she gave him the faintest of smiles before walking away. He held her back however, grabbing her hand. She turned around and he plunged his blue eyes deep into her green.

"Be careful."

She lightly pressed the hand that held hers before releasing it and walking to the ring for good.

Beckett had trained for hand-to-hand combat more times than she could count during her years as a police officer. She'd fought with all sorts of adversaries, often larger and stronger than she was. She knew all the kicks, the punches, and the blocks... In theory, she was ready. But she couldn't deny the fact that the man standing before her—three times bigger than she was and watching her with predatory eyes—terrified her.

She hadn't told Castle, but when they had learned they were surrounded by assassins, she had remembered why she knew the name "Bully." He was a contract killer, renowned in the west of the country for the way he killed his victims. Unsurprisingly, he killed them by crushing them with his hands, usually their ribcage or trachea. The victims also had all sorts of broken bones when they were found dead.  
>Beckett quickly shook that image away, deciding it didn't help her focus on the fight to come.<p>

Indeed, Bully was already launching himself towards her and she just barely avoided him. He repeated the movement several times and she avoided contact every time. But this little dance of theirs wouldn't last long and she knew it.  
>Eventually, Bully switched to a series of kicks and punches that she had no difficulty stopping. But very soon she grew tired. Bruises were already starting to appear on her bare arms because of the force of the blows from her opponent, and her muscles were growing tired. She had to put an end to this uninterrupted assault before breaking down.<br>She opted for a radical approach with him. She took a few steps back to get away from Bully and, putting her weight on her left leg, got ready to kick him soundly in the ribs. As she expected, the man anticipated her move easily and she immediately switched legs, sending her left foot flying into his jaw instead. That blow was effective enough and sent Bully backwards a few steps. But it took more than that to destabilize this mountain of a man and he came back charging.

Castle had gotten up from his seat and staggered to the sides of the ring. He did nothing to hide just how worried he was about the detective's well being. Not that he doubted her skills for one minute but... Bully was one hell of a man!  
>He smiled proudly when he saw her phenomenal kick to his face.<br>But instantly grew worried again when she tried another powerful kick and this time he grabbed her leg mid-air. For the split second that it took Bully to move, he saw Beckett's panicked look and his hear skipped a beat. Sure enough, the man swept her leg and she crashed hard on her back, Bully on top of her.  
>Thankfully for her – or not – the man seemed inclined to drag the fight out and have some fun with the detective so he released her and got on his feet. Kate got up as well, doing her best – and failing – to hide the pain that shot through her spinal column.<p>

They exchanged another series of punches and sometimes Beckett's fist met with Bully's various body parts but he always seemed unswayed. However, when the man's fist had met with her stomach, she'd felt her bile come back up her throat, and when his fist found her face in an unfortunate moment of weakness, she staggered backwards, wiping the dripping blood from her lip.

Half stunned, she continued attacking, her right fist ready to hit his face, although she had little hope of actually reaching her target. Bully's counter-attack however was even more surprising than she'd expected. Instead of blocking her, he leaned forward and grabbed her by the sides of her thighs. She let out a small yelp of surprise when he lifted her off the ground and over his shoulder, before releasing her.  
>She fell hard on her left arm and bit her bleeding lip to stop herself from crying out in pain.<p>

Drowned in the loud buzzing in her ear, she vaguely heard a familiar voice calling her name.

"Kate!"

Seeing as Bully didn't seem willing to continue the fight on the ground, she granted herself a moment of pause, searching Castle with her eyes. She saw him there, by the side of a mat. He was livid, his body completely tense, his fists balled at his sides. But when her eyes met his, she found a look that contrasted radically with his attitude. There was no fear, no pity or anger; only this ever-present tenderness and admiration that never seemed to leave his blue eyes.  
>In these eyes, she found the courage she needed to stand up.<p>

"You want more, beautiful?"

She narrowed her eyes, giving him one very dirty look.  
>She gathered all of her anger, her fatigue, and her pain and transformed it into her force.<p>

At this moment, Castle couldn't help but be proud of the woman standing tall in the middle of the ring. He knew she was an extraordinarily strong human being, but he had only glimpsed at her strength a few times, but this moment was one of them. He knew she was tired, hurt, frustrated and yet she kept getting back up, pushing through, her head held high, proud, menacing. Because right at this moment, she really looked menacing and, even if it probably wasn't the best time to think that, she was darn sexy.  
>A lot of her hair had freed itself from the elastic band and fell in a beautiful mess around her face. She was sweating, as made quite evident by the darker stain that was appearing on her tank top between her breasts. The blood that continued to flow from her lip got mixed in with the sweat beading along her jaw, her neck and her chest. Her body was tense, and he could see the muscles on her back and her arms twitch from exhaustion. She looked wild and disheveled, and he found that extremely sexy.<p>

All the more so that she now had this look on her face that told him she was ready to put an end to this fight and come out a winner.  
>So, when Bully attacked her, she blocked his right punch from the inside, stepping into his zone. She bent her right arm and her elbow came in contact with his jaw. She reiterated the move on the other side of his face, effectively making him dizzy.<p>

Castle grinned proudly.

The small redhead who had woken up stepped over to Castle's side and observed the fight.

"Your wife... she's something!"

"Yeah... she's the best," he replied without taking his eyes off her.

In the meantime, Bully had grabbed Beckett's throat and for a second, Castle thought it was over. He prayed that the man wouldn't take the game as far as killing his partner and was ready to jump in if he didn't let go soon.  
>Beckett tried to release herself from his grip, but nothing worked against his strength.<p>

As oxygen was becoming a necessity, she opted for another approach. Firmly putting her weight on her left leg, she placed her right foot on his thigh. She grabbed his collar and let her whole body fall backwards, taking the giant with her. Thanks to her leg and the impulsion she had, she threw him over her and he landed on his back, behind her.  
>Taking advantage of the man's temporary weakness, she immediately went to his side, grabbed his arm and twisted it, forcing him to turn over on his belly. The cop inside her found herself in familiar territory and she placed her knee between his shoulder blades. All the while she still pulled back on his arm, making him cry out in pain. She granted herself the luxury of enjoying the moment a little longer before releasing him.<br>She got off of him and wordlessly stepped off the mats.

"Kate, are you okay?" asked Castle as he offered his own wounded body as support.

She turned him down.

"Let's go," she commanded, walking past him and heading towards the exit, ignoring the looks of admiration and astonishment from the other contenders.

Castle joined her side and placed a hand in the small of her back.

"Kate?"

She ignored him and continued her determined walk through the halls of their hotel/prison. He took his hand off and followed her in silence, limping to their room.

When the door closed behind them, Kate's body gave way entirely and he saw her start to fall, her legs bending under her weight. He quickly grabbed her from behind. The shock of her weight on his own injured body drew a pained moan from him as he steadied her.

"Kate?" he called, worried.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and, ignoring his own pain, led her to the bathroom. When they reached the room, he let her slide down to the floor and set her against the wall.  
>He went out for a few seconds and came back with a bottle of water from the mini bar.<br>Tilting Beckett's head back, he forced her to drink some water and she emitted a few unidentified sounds in protest.

"I'm fine, Castle," she assured him with a weak voice.

He ignored her and grabbed a towel that he put under the cold-water tap before sitting down in front of her. He pushed back a few strands of her hair and placed the towel on her swollen lip. Then he swabbed her neck and her exposed chest, trying to clean the blood off of her.

"Castle..." she protested weakly as he reached her cleavage.

She took the towel from him and switched to the cleaner side, before putting it on Castle's own lip. He groaned.

"Don't be a baby."

When she was done, she dropped the towel and they stared at each other for a moment. A whole array of emotions went through their eyes.  
>Eventually, Castle broke the silence.<p>

"You know... you were kinda fantastic out there."

Beckett refrained from laughing but even the small chuckle that came out made her grimace in pain.

"You weren't so bad yourself."

Castle smiled and winced as well.

"I think so too. We are quite a pair, huh?"

She examined the writer and cast her eyes on his leg.

"How's your knee?"

"Great. Your back?"

"Awesome."

They stayed in silence for another long moment before Castle got up on his feet and wrapped an arm around Beckett's waist.

"Castle! What are you doing?"

"I'm helping you up," he explained as he did exactly that.

Both let out whimpers in the process.

"You're hurt, and I can walk on my own," she protested.

But she had barely taken a step that her leg bent under her weight.  
>Castle put his arm back around her waist and wordlessly led her to the bed where he made her sit. She was going to lie down but he held her up, grabbing the rim of her tank top with both hands, ready to lift it up. Kate's hands stopped his movement.<p>

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Calm down Kate, I just want to help you get changed."

"I can do..." She didn't finish her sentence however, her face contorting in pain as soon as she tried the movement.

"Kate... I promise I won't try anything. But your clothes are bloody and sweaty and..."

Kate pushed his hands away nonetheless, but her tone was a lot softer now.

"I can do it Castle. You should get changed, too."

She offered him a smile, promising him that she wasn't pushing him away out of spite but simply because she wanted to preserve her dignity... and modesty. He understood her silent request and headed back to the bathroom.

When he came back out, Kate was already curled into a ball under her sheet, eyes closed.  
>He was limping over to his couch, when he heard her voice.<p>

"You're hurt... Come to bed..."

At first, he thought he had imagined it, so low was her voice. But deciding that the bed would indeed be much better for his body, he grabbed his pillow and the duvet and walked to the bed. He hesitated a moment before slipping under the sheets, making sure he had heard her right. When she didn't protest, he lifted the sheet and lay under it.

"Castle..." Her voice stopped him. "Just don't forget I sleep with a gun," she finished with a groggy voice.

He simply smiled.

"Goodnight, detective."

He placed the duvet over their bodies and pulled it over her shoulders. He leaned forward and dropped a tender kiss on her forehead. She let out a small "Hmm" and he put his head back on the pillow, a smile on his face.


	7. Out of Control

**A/N: Glad you guys enjoyed chapter 5 :) Another day, another challenge to face for our two heroes ^^ If any of you saw Nathan Fillion's movie "Drive", well... there's a little wink to that in there (actually, a big wink I think)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>PARTY OF TWO<strong>

**CHAPTER 6: OUT OF CONTROL**

As he opened his eyes, the rays of the sun were already bathing the room in light. He felt a weight on his body. He lifted his head up to see Kate Beckett, sleeping peacefully and using his torso as a pillow. The smile that appeared at the sight quickly disappeared at the thought of Kate's reaction if she woke up like this. She would be quite capable of accusing him of putting her there.  
>He looked around for a way out of the situation.<br>He tried to move his right arm, but part of the woman's body was on top of it and moving it would risk waking her. His eyes caught sight of the knife resting on the nightstand and he bit his lip in dread. When he felt her move, he held his breath and remained perfectly still.

He hoped that, despite her threat of being a light sleeper, she would sleep long enough for him to extricate himself from her hold. He was too afraid of being kicked out of bed unceremoniously—something his body could not take at the moment. Although she had no reason to be fed up with him—in fact he should be the one complaining about the situation.  
>Except, how could he? He found the image of the detective sleeping on him so incredibly cute. Sound asleep, peaceful, cuddly... he saw a side of Kate he wasn't used to.<br>Taking his left arm out from under the warm sheets, he felt around for his cellphone while keeping a watchful eye on the detective. What he was witnessing deserved a photo. He had to immortalize this moment... for posterity.

When he didn't find the phone, he hit his forehead in realization. He remembered he had left the phone in his pants, which were currently on the bathroom floor. He cursed himself and once again, reminded himself he really ought to leave his phone by his nightstand next time.

He tried to clear his throat, hoping the noise would wake up the woman who had mistaken his chest for a pillow. But her only reaction was a low "Hmmm" in protest and her right hand came to rest on his chest, next to her head.

He thought about pretending to be asleep and move around to wake her up. Act all surprised and bothered when she'd wake up. Except the sight of the threatening knife really made him wish she wouldn't find them in this position at all.

He really was stuck.

The only positive thing he could think about was that he had actually gotten a good night's sleep. His body seemed less sore than the day before, although this was probably due to the fact that he was lying down. In any case, he felt slightly better than he did yesterday and definitely well rested.

He tried to move again, hoping she'd move too and rest her head elsewhere, but nothing happened. So much for being a light sleeper...

So, he switched to plan B.

With his free hand, he took hold of the duvet and the sheets and pushed them away, exposing her bare skin to the freshness of the morning. He hoped that would wake her up. But instead, she mechanically grabbed the covers and pulled them back over her shoulder and up to her chin. He sighed at another failed attempt.

He was about to opt for a radical wake-up call, much like the one she had given him on the day of their arrival, when he noticed his right arm was now free to move. He gently pulled it from under her, moving his body away in the process. Eventually, Beckett readjusted her position and grabbed a nearby pillow instead of him. He let out another sigh, of relief this time.

He finally managed to slip out of bed. When he got on his feet, he had the unpleasant surprise to realize that his knee was still very painful when he put his weight on it. Limping, he went to the closet and grabbed a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt with black patterns printed on it. He turned around to watch the detective as she continued to sleep and he took a few seconds to savor this image of her. Then he went to the bathroom and picked up his precious iPhone, placing it on the sink.

He stepped in the shower and turned on the hot water, letting it run down his stiff body and waking up the wounds from the day before. He moaned in pain. It was physical and mental pain. If he was honest with himself, it hadn't been much of a fight the night before but more of an ass-kicking session. Not that he had anything to be ashamed about in the end, after all, he was not an expert in hand-to-hand combat. With that knowledge in mind, he had defended himself decently.

Once he felt his body relax, he stepped out of the shower and got dressed. His face made all sorts of grimaces from the pain his movements caused.

When he got out, he looked around the room for Beckett, thinking she would be up. Instead, he found her in the same position as before, still asleep.

As he headed towards the unlocked front door, he got distracted by the chest of drawers to the side of the room. A frown appeared on his face and then a smile. If he had to play the part of an assassin, he had to look it too.  
>He walked over to the chest of drawers and opened the first drawer. He took out a Beretta 90 and his holster and placed them on his hip with pride.<br>He looked at himself in the mirror and grinned before heading out, his steps instantly leading him to the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Kate started to wake up when she felt the rays of the sun hit her face and she couldn't hide from them anymore. She yawned and stretched, feeling rested, but she grimaced the second she moved her sore body. She looked to her left, vaguely remembering the writer lying down next to her the day before. He wasn't there anymore, and the sheets were cold. She sat up and looked around the room, wondering where he had gone and what possible mischief he was up to.<p>

With all the will power she could muster, she sat on the edge of the bed. She knew that the aching would only get worse once she got to her feet. Apprehensively, she stood up, holding on to the nightstand as a precaution. To her surprise, her legs held her weight and she straightened up, even daring to take a few steps to check her balance.

When she didn't fall she smiled, relieved to note that her body had somewhat healed since her one-on-one session with Bully. But although she was feeling okay this morning, she wasn't in any way ready for a repeat of the previous day. She hoped that if they had another challenge to face today, it would not involve fighting.

After a good, hot shower to loosen her muscles and massage her sore body, she headed to the closet to pick out her clothes for the day She was still amazed to find such a large choice of garments at their disposal. She opted for a light blue, long-sleeved tee and a black pair of baggy pants.  
>Then she went over to the chest drawer and picked out four throwing knives that she placed in a pouch and around her shoulder. She also laced a combat knife to her right ankle. She picked up her glock from under her pillow and looked at it longingly before placing it safely in the drawer.<br>Before heading out to look for Castle, she decided to grab a maroon zipped hoodie, just in case.

In the corridor, she caught the sweet aroma of bacon and walked toward the smell, hoping she would find Castle cooking it for her. She was simply starving.

She pushed the double doors, and indeed, she found the writer in front of the stove. He was juggling two pans—one containing bacon, and another scrambled eggs. She gave a small, disappointed pout when she noticed only one plate on the counter though.

Then her expression changed to a frown when she felt she was being observed. She turned around in time to see the redhead walking past her to the fridge. Beckett shrugged it off and stepped over to the writer's side, but she felt the young woman's gaze on her and turned her head. In her green eyes, she saw a good dose of admiration and maybe jealousy. Kate couldn't help but smile and feel flattered. Although she tried not to think about it, her fight with Bully had certainly surprised more than one contender.

"Good morning love, sleep well?" greeted Castle with a loving smile.

Surprising even herself, she refrained from responding with some sharp comment.

"Very well. And you, _sweetheart_?"

Castle's eyes grew a little wider.

"Like a baby."

He walked – or limped rather – over to the table and pulled a chair, motioning for the lady to sit down, which she did. Then he placed a plate with scrambled eggs, toasts and bacon in front of her, a bowl containing grapes and pieces of an apple, as well as a cup of coffee and a glass of orange juice.

Now Beckett's eyes grew wider.

"Wow I...err- thank you."

He leaned over her shoulder and whispered in her ear.

"You're welcome."

Beckett closed her eyes and bit her lip at his proximity. The sound of the nearby chair being pulled out made her open her eyes and she saw Castle sitting next to her, watching her. She felt slightly ill at ease.

"You're not eating?"

"I already had breakfast. I was going to bring yours over when you got here."

"Oh." She blushed at his kind attention.

Castle was in an unusually good mood since he had woken up with the detective's body wrapped around his. When he thought about the image, forever engraved in his mind, he let out a satisfied sigh. The redhead watched them with amused eyes from the other side of the table.

"Did you find out anything about today's fun activities?" asked the detective between two bites of bread.

"Funny you should ask..." he answered, reaching into his back pocket and taking out a piece of folded paper.

Beckett took it from him and started reading its content out loud: _"On foot or in a car, you must prove your worth. Your mind must be always sharp, no matter the circumstances. For the first part, time is your only enemy. Take those keys and go outside."_

Her eyes left the piece of paper and traveled to Castle who was proudly holding out car keys, an unmistakable gleam of excitement in his eyes. She vigorously shook her head in anticipation.

"There is absolutely no way you are driving."

She added a dark, threatening look to her words, although it wasn't quite as effective as she would have hoped.

"Oh, you can look at me like that all you want, I'm driving," he answered, the key dancing in front of her.

"I'm not getting into any car _you're_ driving."

"What, you think I can't drive? Or you simply don't like to share..."

"It's got nothing to do with sharing! I'm driving and that's the end of that."

She tried to grab the keys but he quickly withdrew his hand.

"No way. First, I've got the keys. Second, after yesterday's fight you're in no shape to drive. And third..." He took some time to think up a third idea but came up short. "Well, I've got the keys!"

She would have protested except she knew he was actually right. Although she had been lucky with her healing, she was in no shape to drive properly. Especially since, by the sound of it, this was not going to be a simple, leisurely drive through the forest.

* * *

><p>When they stepped outside the hotel, they found a 1972 black Dodge Challenger waiting for them.<br>The mythic car had two light-blue bands running along the sides from the headlights to the taillights and aluminum wheels that underlined the rustic look of the car-a car Castle was admiring with love.  
>He let his eyes run over the body of the Dodge Challenger—from the beautiful, large, light blue T cross on top of the hood, to the roof and to the trunk.<p>

Beckett rolled her eyes when she saw the writer's admiration for this large piece of metal.

"It's just a car..." she commented.

"It's not _just_ a car! It's a Dodge Challenger 1972, it's a pure beauty, a stallion, a jewel, a..."

"Enough!" interrupted Beckett, raising a hand to shut him up.

Castle got the message and instead, playing excitedly with the key, he went over to the driver's side, taking place in the coveted seat. As curious as ever, he started a thorough search of the car, starting with the glove compartment in which he found a map with a course marked on it.

Absorbed as he was in his studying of every turn and twist of the course, he almost didn't hear the tap on the opposite window. He raised his eyes only to see Beckett still outside, her arms folded over her chest, looking at him under knitted eyebrows, waiting for him to unlock her door. Which he did.

"Hey, look at this, Kate."

He showed her the map he found.

"What is this?"

"I think it's the course we're meant to follow," he explained, putting both hands on the wheel.

"A course, huh?"

"Cool, right?"

While Castle feigned driving and turning left and right she flipped the map over.

"Have you looked at the back?"

"No, why?"

"It says here we have three rounds to make the best time. They'll keep the best of the three."

"Does it say what happens if we do a bad score?"

"No... But let's not take any chances."

Castle nodded and turned the ignition. He let out a small, happy whimper at the roar of the powerful engine.

"Do you feel this Kate? Do you feel this power? There must be at least two-hundred horse-power under the hood!"

Kate gave him a contorted smile, feeling everything but reassured at the idea of Castle driving this kind of fast car, on an unknown course without any particular training as a pilot.

But before she could voice her concerns, Castle stepped on the accelerator. The car made a burn, leaving black marks on the asphalt. The noise it made and the slight deviation of the car to the left sent a shiver of fear down the detective's body. She grabbed the handle over her head. Trees were getting dangerously near and she feared her end had come, but thankfully, Castle regained control of the vehicle and engaged in the forest without hitting any trees...yet. Castle chanced a glance at his partner, a large smile on his face to hide his embarrassment.

"That... Wasn't supposed to happen."

"Yeah no kidding," she mumbled between clenched teeth.

Although he had a pretty good memory and the course was now engraved in his mind, he remained rather careful in his speed during the first round.

Thus, when he reached a double bend he knew would be tough to go around, he slowed down to gauge the road. After the double bend they found a lake right in front of them and Castle took a sharp turn to the right, around a large, imposing oak tree which annoyingly reduced the visibility around the bend.

But despite all that, Castle managed the various turns and they finished the first round, albeit with a pitiful score in terms of timing. But at least they were alive and Castle now had a better knowledge of the road.  
>Castle stopped the car in the spot where they'd found it earlier and let the engine roar for a moment, the large grin on his face attesting of the fact that he was enjoying this challenge quite a lot. Too much for Beckett's taste who hadn't let go of the handle one second. Seeing the writer so excited before his second round, she couldn't help but voice at least some of her fears.<p>

"You better not plant this car against a tree Castle, or so help me god I will..."

"Relax, honey. I've memorized the course by now, it should be fine."

"Should be?" she repeated fear clearly rising up.

"And you really should put on your seat belt you know, safety is important," he advised, doing the same himself. "You never know... Especially 'cause my knee does kind of hurt..."

"What the...?"

He didn't let her finish and stepped on the gas, making the car do another burn that he managed to control much better than the first time.

Castle was completely focused and calm, piloting the car around the course much faster than the first time around. But beside him, his partner was a lot less serene. The comments she made in her mind went along the lines of: _"Castle, watch out for the tree... Turn left! The tree! A rock! Turn right! Castle, I'm gonna kill you! The tree!"_ When she saw the tricky double bend in front of them she tightened her grip around the hold and closed her eyes, sending a prayer out to whoever was listening.  
>By some miracle however, Castle managed the bend and the sharp turn around the oak tree without difficulty, tanking the car left and right and holding on tight to the wheel.<p>

"Yes!" he screamed out, quite surprised himself at his performance.

His scream of victory shook Beckett who opened her eyes.

"Are you crazy?"

"What? That was awesome!"

"Don't do that again!"

He smiled at her, amused to see such a fearsome Beckett and brought his attention back to the road, to get them back to the start safe and sound.

"How are we supposed to know if we got a good time," mused Beckett aloud as they reached their starting point.

"I have no idea, but as long as we're still alive I'm thinking we're good."

Beckett shrugged and relaxed her hands a little before holding on to her favorite handle again. Castle looked over at her and shook his head.

"I can't believe it. Kate Beckett, scared in a car!"

"I'm not scared in _a_ car, Castle. I'm scared in this particular car that _you're_ driving!"

"Oh, I see..."

"See what?"

"You like being in control all the time and so giving up this power scares you. You feel threatened!"

"I don't..."

And once again, Castle launched the Dodge Challenger into the woods.

Mid-way through the third round, the car didn't take the bend exactly the same way as before and a small bump on a rock was enough for the car to lose its grip on this dirt road. Castle tried, vainly, to regain control but at his speed, the Dodge bumped into a tree at the end of the double bend and the impact sent the car flying to the left and into the nearby lake.

Castle shook his head vigorously to recover from the shock, his feet and calves were under water and it was rising up, fast. He looked around the vehicle and saw water coming in from all sides, the surface of the lake now at eye level with him. He looked over to his right and saw Beckett, her head and body tilted forward, held only by her seat belt. As water reached his hips, he shook his partner's shoulders.

"Beckett?"

But she gave no answer. He tried waking her up and shaking her several times but nothing happened.  
>Water kept creeping up and his breathing accelerated, panic quickly taking over.<p>

He tried to unlatch his seat belt, but no matter how much he pressed on the button, it didn't budge.

"Beckett!" he called out again, fighting against his belt. "Kate wake up! We're kind of drowning here!"

Opting for another tactic, he reached over to the detective with his right hand and felt around her body for the knives she was carrying. He lifted her hoodie and found them in her back. Trying not to cut her on the way, he pulled one of the knives out of its sheath and used it on the two seat belts.

Free from his restraint, he tried opening his door, but it didn't budge. The vehicle was almost out of air and Castle tried to keep his partner's head out of the water with one hand, while the other pushed and pulled vigorously on the door. He knew that in some very, very near future they'd both be underwater. He realized it was useless trying to open the door until the pressure between the outside and the inside of the car were equal. In short, he had to wait for the car to completely fill up with water.

The Dodge eventually disappeared under water—some foam and a few bubbles on the surface were the only signs of the accident that had just happened.

It was now time to act. He put one shoulder on the door as leverage and with his right hand he pulled the door handle. It took him a few tries but eventually the door opened.

Air was gone by now and the writer was holding his breath. He swam out of his seat and turned around to grab Beckett's collar to pull her out. The detective's body lifted a little but did not move. Her feet were stuck.  
>Castle was beginning to seriously need oxygen and if he lost consciousness, they would both be dead. He looked up and saw the sky dancing in the water's reflection. The lake didn't seem that deep-maybe seven feet, eight tops. He decided to go back up to get some air.<p>

When he dived back in, he swam to Beckett's side of the car. Putting both his feet on the body of the car, he pulled the door with all his strength. Holding the door open with his back, he put both hands around Kate's face and lifted it up. He got closer and brought his lips to hers, to insufflate much needed air into her lungs.  
>Then he leaned over her legs and tried to free her feet from under the crushed dashboard, which held her prisoner. When he felt she was free to move, he grabbed her collar again, placed one foot on the dashboard and the other on the body of the car before pushing himself up, Beckett in tow. This technique allowed him to reach the surface much quicker than before.<p>

Once above the surface, he placed the unconscious body of the detective over his own, holding her head out and swimming on his back to the shore.  
>After a few strokes, he felt the ground under his feet and, wrapping an arm under her legs and another behind her back, he carried the woman onto shore.<p>

"Kate?"

He laid her on the grass.

"Kate, come on!"

He felt for her pulse.

"Come on Kate, don't make me give you mouth to mouth!"

He checked if she was still breathing. Nothing.

"Alright, you asked for it!"

Castle quickly unzipped the detective's hoodie and, tilting her head slightly backwards to free her airwaves, he brought his mouth to hers and breathed in.

"Come on Kate, wake up!"

He repeated the movement.

"Don't do this to me, come on!"

He placed his palms over her sternum and gave her thirty pumps, before going back to her mouth and breathing some air into her lungs. Desperately calling to her between pumps, he repeated the sequence until Kate came to, coughing her lungs out. Instinctively, she rolled to the side and spit out the water in her lungs. She breathed in and out heavily, trying to fill her lungs back with oxygen and eventually she turned to Castle, who was kneeling beside her.

Now assured that his partner was alive, the writer was back to his old self and his old self was smiling at the image in front of him. Indeed, Kate's light blue shirt had turned completely transparent with the water and gave him an unobstructed view of the body underneath and the detective's rapidly rising and falling chest.  
>Upon seeing his smile, Beckett lowered her eyes over her own body.<p>

"You alright there Castle?" she asked with a hoarse voice as she zipped her hoodie back up.

"Me? Fine? Yeah, I, err-" he stumbled. "And you?" he asked, slightly embarrassed.

"No, I'm not alright! You are never, _ever_ driving again, you hear me? Never!"

She coughed from the strain caused by her yelling.

Instead of responding with his usual remarks or defending himself, Castle simply hung his head in shame. He kept seeing it, that image, of the detective, unconscious under water. For a moment he thought he had killed her. He thought that because of his recklessness, because of a stupid challenge and a stupid investigation he had killed her. He should have let her drive.  
>He didn't dare look up, afraid of all the disappointment and anger he would see in her eyes... and knowing she'd be justified.<br>Seeing the writer so miserable hurt her to the point where all thoughts of anger and reproach just floated away, leaving in their place compassion and understanding. She looked at him intently, kindly, hoping he'd look up at her... which he eventually did.

"Kate, I am..."

She didn't let him apologize.

"Thank you, Castle."

They didn't need to say more really. They looked at each other, blue and green mixing together, drowning in each other's gaze, losing themselves in the moment, and forgetting all...

They smiled in mutual understanding.

Castle got up and held out his hands to help her up.

To his surprise, she accepted.

* * *

><p>After a few moments, they reached the hotel on foot. The place looked deserted, no one was outside, and it surprised them that there were no announcements of the results.<p>

They walked in and as soon as they pushed the double doors leading to their corridor, they were faced with Val, aiming a gun at them. Reflexively, Beckett took two throwing knives out of their sheath and Castle drew his Beretta. Val smiled at Beckett's weapons and Castle's dripping wet gun.

"You two came back on foot?" she commented amused. "And I see you even took the time to take a bath. How romantic!"

She didn't seem the least bit disturbed by their current standoff.

"You can put down your weapons you know," she explained as she sheathed her own. "But you might wanna get new guns and... hurry. You're late."

She walked past them proudly but turned back before disappearing behind the double doors.

"Good thing you got a good time on your second run... Looks like we're one man short."

She disappeared behind the doors and Kate watched her leave before turning around to Castle, surprised she hadn't heard a remark on his 'good time' yet. Instead she found his shoulders slouched, his head hanging low as he put his gun back in its holster. He turned around silently and walked towards their room but Beckett grabbed his arm to stop him, startling him.

"Hold on Rick. What's going on? Where is the boasting, the pride?"

He turned around and looked up to her.

"Proud of what? Of nearly getting you killed?" he lowered his head again. "You know, I think this is too much after all, maybe we should..."

She didn't let him finish and grabbed his arm, leading him to their bedroom.

"What are you saying, Castle?" she asked once they were away from prying eyes and ears.

"I'm saying... Maybe we should put an end to this, it's not worth it..."

"We have a killer to find remember?"

She walked over to the chest drawer and took out her beloved Glock while handing another, dry, Beretta to Castle. He took it and placed his wet one on the piece of furniture.

"Listen Kate... We're here to find a killer who offed a couple of assassins – which by the way isn't such a great loss – is it really worth all this?"

"That's not the point, Castle. It doesn't matter who the victim is, their killer deserves justice just the same."

He turned his back on her, trying to find the right words to tell her what was on his mind.

"Kate you... you don't understand. I almost..."

"Killed me," she finished, cutting him off. "I know Castle. But you didn't. You got me out, you saved me and... I'm fine. I really am."

She went behind him and forced him to turn around, which he did.

"It's over now Rick. I'm okay. And... You actually did a pretty good job driving that car," she added with a smile. "So we're going to continue this stupid game and we're going to find our poisoner and go home."

They stared at each other a moment, finishing their conversation the way they always did before she continued.

"Come on, let's go see what the second challenge of the day is supposed to be. We're already late as it is."

She walked out of the bedroom, leaving the writer behind with his thoughts. He shook his head and forced a smile before whispering: "Lost you, Kate. I almost lost you."

He sighed and, dragging his feet, he headed to the double door. He didn't have time to push it however that Kate reappeared from behind, a piece of paper in hand.

"Come on Castle, I've got the instructions. Looks like some kind of map to where we're supposed to meet the other contenders."

She lead the way back out into the woods and he followed.

* * *

><p>The map lead them through another part of the forest. It seemed to Beckett to extend for miles and miles around the main building. After a half hour walk under the setting sun, which partly allowed for their clothes to dry in the most uncomfortable way, they reached a small clearing where they met their 'colleagues' Val greeted them with a smile while Bully gave Beckett a menacing look. Salvation was leaning against a tree, arms crossed over his chest, looking positively bored. The scarred man was next to him, observing the contenders one at a time and playing with a pocketknife. In front of them, the redhead was playing with a gun, flipping it and cleaning it. Rounding up this merry band was a tall blonde man who looked rather pissed off.<p>

Seeing so many killers gathered in the same place, Castle swallowed hard and leaned over to his partner.

"I feel like we're heading to the firing squad..."

On the other side of the clearing, there were eight shooting targets and right in front of them a table with water bottles and small pouches containing some sort of white powder.

"Something tells me this isn't flour," commented the writer as they reached the table.

Kate grabbed the piece of paper and read it quickly before setting it back on the table, frowning.

"What did it say?" asked Castle who didn't dare take his eyes off the gathered band of assassins.

"Not much: _Do it or you're out,_" she shrugged.

"Do what?"

"What do I know?"

The blonde guy who had overheard their conversation stepped closer to the couple.

"They want us to sniff this shit and shoot the targets. See if we can focus even when we're stoned. This is bull I'm telling you!" He proclaimed for the whole group to hear. "I didn't come here to get high on drugs. I'm out of here!"

The blonde man accompanied his word by walking away from the group under the curious looks of the band. But before he could disappear between the trees, a small puff of blood appeared behind his head and he collapsed. A loud bang resonated through the forest. Blood started pouring out from under the man's fallen body.

For once, Castle wasn't the only one to be startled by the sound, but he was the only one who showed just how uneasy he was about all this.

"What was that?" he whispered over to his partner.

Beckett looked over at the trees surrounding them.

"There must be a sniper somewhere to make sure we do as we're told."

"Great, just... great."

Castle also looked around at the trees, narrowing his eyes in the hopes of spotting him, feeling fear rising inside him..

"What if we just ran? Get out of here before it's too late."

"Oh yeah, great idea, _honey_. You want to get shot or what?" she replied sarcastically.

"We could zigzag."

"Brilliant idea." Beckett rolled her eyes. "When you've got another one like that, you let me know."

In the meantime, the other contestants had started sniffing the powder in the pouches and were taking positions at the shooting range.  
>With a resolute sigh, Kate grabbed one of the remaining pouches and emptied its content on the table. She formed a neat line and tore a piece of the paper on the table. She rolled it and, leaned over the table, ready to do her line. But before doing so, she turned to Castle.<p>

"Listen, we don't know what this stuff is exactly but it's gotta be something nasty, so once we're done here, I'd appreciate it if you just... stayed away from me okay?"

"Sure. But err- What exactly do you mean by 'nasty?'"

"Well, as drugs go, it could be anything, most likely cocaine and... who knows what else. The effects can range for elevated heart rate, to hyperventilation, hallucination, hypersensitivity, mood-swings..."

"Okay!" he interrupted. "Thanks. I get the picture."

Kate looked at the writer with compassion and leaned back over the table.  
>She sniffed her line with a disgusted face, not believing she was really doing this. She coughed and cleaned her nose before grabbing a water bottle and taking a few sips. She put both hands on the table, leaning forward, her eyes still closed. Whatever they'd put in that powder was strong and the effects kicked in instantly. She shook her head and straightened up. Then she took her glock out and turned to Castle.<p>

"Alright, your turn."

"I... I don't think I want to."

"It's not like you have a choice, would you rather take a bullet?"

"No... but I don't want to get high either."

"Tough decision," she nodded with a smile.

Castle stared at her.

"You're not yourself..."

"No I'm not! I just inhaled a line of white powder, what did you expect?"

She cleared her throat and took another sip of water.

"Right. I'm gonna go shoot at some targets before being completely out of it."

Checking the number of bullets in her gun, she stepped over to the shooting range, leaving Castle behind to contemplate his choices. But the decision was quickly made and he prepared his own line. "_I am not responsible for anything that happens after this_," he thought as he disgustedly sniffed the powder.  
>He coughed as well, although more so than Beckett and took his head in his hands, waiting for the spinning to stop. Deciding to imitate the detective, who seemed surprisingly experienced – something he'd have to investigate later – he took a few sips of water as well. Then, taking his Beretta, he went over to Beckett, who was still shooting.<p>

"You're not done yet?" he teased.

"I'm trying to focus here," she replied dryly.

And they truly did try to focus. But with their increasing heart rates, their ragged breathing, the blurry eyesight, shooting was extremely difficult. And with Castle by her side, something else bothered Kate. She had failed to mention to the writer that one of the possible side effects was an increased libido. She knew it would be impossible to fight the effects of the drug and that terrified her. Losing control was not an option here. She already felt funny from the recent intake, she could only imagine what the later hours would bring... and she wasn't looking forward to it.

Beckett finished emptying her barrel; she was pretty sure she'd hit her target, somewhere. She put the glock in the back of her pants and looked at the writer who was murdering nearby trees with his last remaining bullets. Thankfully, he'd manage to hit his target at least once.

"Whenever you're done honey," she remarked impatiently, her hands on her hips.

"Don't rush me!" he countered with annoyance as he sheathed his empty Beretta.

As they were finished, they started walking back to the hotel, Beckett leading the way a good ten paces ahead of the writer who followed her while admiring the trees around them.

All they had to do was get through the next hours... Just... Get through them.


	8. A Night To Remember

**A/N: So, the rating for this chapter is going _way_ up ! After all, as some of you noticed, Beckett did mention in her thoughts that the drug could possibly increase one's libido...**

* * *

><p><strong>PARTY OF TWO<br>**

**CHAPTER 7 : A NIGHT TO REMEMBER**

In the corridor that lead them back to their room, Beckett felt Castle's eyes on her as he walked by her side. She glanced over at him and saw he wasn't looking at her face. She followed his gaze and realized he was staring at her chest. Since they hadn't had time to change between two activities, her light blue tee clung to her skin in a very revealing fashion.

"Castle!" she exclaimed covering her body with her arms and forgetting that they could still be heard.

She gave a quick look around when she realized her mistake. Castle did not answer, still too focused on her chest, even though it was now covered.

"Will you stop that? Eyes, up here!" she ordered, indicating her face. "Would you like it if I stared at your..." She stopped mid-sentence, as her eyes had indeed traveled down the writer's body and were now glued to his torso, completely visible through his damp white t-shirt.

She licked her lips unconsciously.

"Do you work-out?" she asked before her brain had time to decide if that was an acceptable thing to say or not.

"Every morning;" he answered absentmindedly.

She put a hand on his biceps, sliding it along his bare arm, her fingers lightly tracing his muscles. He stared at this hand that was touching him, mesmerized.

"You two find your room before getting it on in the hallway!" chastised Val as she entered her own room.

The woman's high-pitched voice instantly tore Beckett out of her reverie and she pulled back her hand. Castle also got back to his senses.

"Right. Our room. Good idea."

The detective turned to the nearby door and Castle walked to another, reading the name "_Scap_" on it.

"Who's Scap?" he asked.

Beckett turned her head and shrugged.

"No idea. But there was no Scap near our room..." she commented pensively, looking on both sides of the corridor before heading back the way they came.

"And volcanic?" asked Castle to an empty corridor as Beckett had found their room and stepped in it.

When he got to the room himself, he arrived in time to see the detective's foot disappear inside the bathroom.  
>He stood in the middle of the room, whistling and looking around for something to do.<p>

"What on earth did they put in that powder thing?" he mused aloud, setting his gun on the bed and taking his shirt off. "There's gotta be cocaine and then what? 'Cause I'm sure there was something else, like they... What else is white?" As he thought about that, he struggled with his socks to pull them off. "Corn flour... Hmm that'd work. Damn, now I'm hungry. Hey Kate, wanna bake a cake?" he asked the bathroom door. "Kate? Katie ? Honey? Sugar? Sweat pea?" he sighed and turned back to the bed. "Always ignoring me."

He started unbuckling his pants while still musing about the unknown powder.

"Maybe it's flour? It's white and it's powdery... Except I can't imagine a dealer putting flour in his coke. Unless the dealer is a fan of Jamie's show..." He stepped into the closet and picked out a pair of pants and a shirt. "Or maybe sugar? Nah... Sugar's too big, it's got crystals, it's...Ugh!" He struggled as he pulled his new pair of pants up.

He walked over to the bed and sprawled on it, making his weapon bounce and fall on the floor.

"Or maybe it was laced with... icing sugar. That's small enough. Man, I really am hungry." He hit his head. "Oh! There's also sodium bicarbonate that's white and powdery... Or even washing powder! That can't be it..."

He laughed out loud at the idea, rolling several times in the bed, before ending up on his back.

"No, I know! It's talc. It could be... Or... Well... whatever it was... Damn it's strong!"

He looked over at the bathroom door where the sound of water had stopped.

"You tell me if I'm annoying you huh? No really 'cause... I'm kinda getting on my own nerves here."

Then he looked at his phone on the nightstand.

"What do you want?"

He snatched the phone and turned it on, quickly perusing through his various apps. A smile tucked at the corner of his lips when he found the perfect game.

* * *

><p>Beckett stepped out of the shower and let out a colorful swearword when she realized that, once again, she had forgotten to grab new clothes. She was clearly too used to being able to walk around naked in her own apartment. She wrapped a towel around her body, holding it tight as she came out of the bathroom, looking for Castle. She found him sprawled on the bed, his fingers typing rapidly on the phone's screen.<br>Without her permission, her eyes scanned the writer's body; he was lying on his back, one hand tucked under his head, his legs spread out. When her eyes ended up between his legs, her cheeks turned vividly red.

"You're done with the shower?"

She looked back up, as though surprised to see him there. She simply frowned and turned her back on him, disappearing behind the sliding doors of the walk-in closet.

"I'm taking that as a yes?" he asked, jumping out of bed.

When he stepped into the bathroom, he noticed Kate's clothes all over the tile floor... _all_ of her clothes. His eyes immediately lifted up to the wall that separated the bathroom and the closet, probably wishing that he would be able to see through the wall at this very minute. He gave a disappointed pout when all he saw were flowered tiles.

* * *

><p>Beckett came out of the closet wearing a blank tank top and another zipped hoodie of the same color over the pair of baggy pants she now used as pajamas.<p>

She took out two bottles of water from the mini-bar and took them with her to the double bed where she let herself fall down, head first.

"It's official, this is hell."

She grabbed a nearby pillow and hugged it tight. When she inhaled and realized it smelled like Castle, she buried her face in it.

"It's only a few hours Kate," she mumbled in the pillow. "All you have to do is get through these few hours. Stay awayyyy from him and think of something else." A smile crept on her face as she thought precisely of him. "Oh god, definitely think about something else!" She repeated, grabbing one of the water bottles and taking large sips out of it.

When Castle came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, he found her in the same position, lying on the bed, hugging _his_ pillow.

"If you want a hug, I'm here, you know?" He offered with a large grin as he walked to the bed.

Beckett lifted her head up, surprised to see and hear Castle.

"God no!" she replied way too quickly. "I mean... No thanks."

"You alright, Kate?"

"Sure." But upon seeing Castle's unconvinced look, she corrected: "no. I'm restless and I need..." Her eyes gave the writer's body the once over and she bit her bottom lip. "Distractions. I need distractions."

Castle smiled knowingly and grabbed his phone.

"I've got just what you need!"

* * *

><p>A half hour later, Beckett and Castle were both sitting on the double bed, side by side, looking intently at the iPhone's screen.<br>Over the last half-hour they had unconsciously drawn closer and closer to the point where now, their shoulders touched. Their faces were so close that when Castle turned his head to look at her, she could feel his breath against her neck and each time, the sensation sent a wave of...

"Heat," she let out in a breath, pointing at the screen. "_Heat_, double word score."

She placed the letters and validated their answer before the computer dealt them new letters.

Castle had had trouble concentrating on the game for a while now, his body and mind distracted by the woman leaning against him. Her long, slightly damp hair fell over his shoulders and tickled his neck. Her smell invaded his senses. He just wanted to touch her, caress her, kiss her—and when their fingers brushed against each other around the phone, it only increased his...

"Desire. Double letter score."

He placed the letters and validated the answer. The computer dealt them new letters and played its turn.  
>When they saw the letter <em>X<em> among their new choices, they both turned to the other at the same time, the same word on their lips: "_Sex._"  
>They stared in silence, their faces suddenly incredibly close. Their eyes burnt with undeniable attraction, their fingers played together around the phone and their faces drew closer still - so close in fact that Castle could already imagine Kate's lips on his own.<br>A double beep rang, breaking the spell and Beckett turned her attention back to the screen.

"Although, _Vexed_, placed here would get us more points," she noted, moving her body away from the writer's.

But a few minutes later, they were leaning against each other again, as though attracted by some invisible force to one another. New letters appeared on the screen and they took a moment to think. Beckett's cheeks turned suspiciously red.

"Spine. Placed here," stated Castle.

Hmm. Not at all the word she had had in mind.

Castle turned to her, seeking her approval but instead found her biting her lip and blushing.

"What?" he asked, puzzled.

"We could get more points over here," she explained pointing to another place on the board.

"With what word?"

She bit harder on her lip and leaned over to Castle's ear, whispering her answer, as though fearing someone might hear it. When he heard the word in question Castle smiled wickedly.  
>Beckett's answer came with an uncharacteristic embarrassed giggle that he found incredibly cute.<br>This time, the cocktail of sensations that ran through him was too much to ignore and, without hesitation, he pressed his lips against Kate's. The small moan that escaped the detective's lips was a mixture of surprise and pleasure—but mostly pleasure, he decided, as her tongue found its way through his lips and into his mouth.  
>He wanted nothing more than to lose himself in this kiss, to drown in the emotions flooding him, but another double beep brought him back to reality, piercing through the heavy fog that drugs and desire had created in his mind.<p>

Reluctantly, his lips moved away from Kate's and then his whole body detached from hers and he turned his attention to the phone. He saw a red light flash in one corner and studied it carefully, as though hypnotized by it.

It took a moment for Beckett's brain to comprehend what had just happened and to get over the huge void that had filled her the second the lips had left hers. She stared at Castle, shocked, disappointed, and frustrated. She followed his gaze down to see what could possibly be more interesting than she was and saw the flashing red light. She, too, remained hypnotized by it.

"Looks like Christmas lighting," commented Castle dreamily.

"Hmm," was Beckett's only answer for a while. "It's pretty. What does it mean?"

"The battery's dying."

"Oh."

A minute or so went by as they both stared, mesmerized, at the red light.  
>Then something clicked in Beckett's head and she snatched the phone from the writer.<p>

"Shit!" she yelled a little too loud for Castle's taste as she turned off the phone.

"What are you doing?" he protested.

"Castle! The battery! We still need the phone to get out of here!"

"Oh. Good point," he nodded vigorously.

They watched the turned off phone a moment in silence.

"And now what?" asked Kate, sadly.

Castle grinned and jumped back onto the bed.

"What the hell?"

He searched inside the drawer of the nightstand and took out the set of cards he had 'borrowed' a few days before.

"Poker?" he asked fetchingly.

"We don't have anything to bet with."

Castle's burning gaze over her body clearly indicated what he intended to bet with.

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes!"

* * *

><p>Another half hour later, Beckett and Castle had both lost a hand and taken their socks off as a price.<p>

Castle lay down his hand on the bed, proudly.

"Three of a kind!"

Beckett frowned and revealed her lame pair of fours.  
>Castle did nothing to hide his smile when he saw he'd won this round and observed Kate expectantly.<p>

"Remind me again why I accepted to do this?" she grumbled as she slid the zipper of her hoodie down.

Castle did not answer, too absorbed as he was by her cleavage at first, then her bare shoulders and eventually her strong yet thin arms as she took the sweater off.  
>A smile firmly set on his face, he dealt a new hand.<p>

Beckett looked at her hand with apprehension. She had nothing. Not even a pair. She could only rely on her ten, her highest card, to win. Even after trading two cards, she still had nothing.  
>She thought about what she was presently wearing, realizing that after this hand, she'd either be in her panties or in her bra in front of Castle. She blushed at the thought, betraying her lame hand to the writer's knowing eyes. She should have been embarrassed or annoyed at this turn of events and part of her definitely was—but another part, the part that warmed her barely covered body was... turned on.<p>

"Haha! Full house!" exclaimed a triumphant Castle while showing his cards.

Kate decided right there and then that it was time to change the game. It was obvious that two games were being played on this very bed, one game of poker and one of seduction. If Kate seemed destined to lose at poker, she would at least come out a winner in the game of seduction.

She slowly laid her cards down on the bed, not bothering announcing them. They both knew she had nothing.  
>She plunged her green eyes into the ocean of dark blue looking back at her and slid her hands, ever slowly over her own stomach, grabbing both sides of her tank top. Without looking away, she pulled the piece of clothing off her head and let it fall nonchalantly on the carpet. She shook her head slightly to properly replace her hair around her face.<p>

Castle was paralyzed, fascinated by this body he saw for the very first time. He had never doubted that under those shirts, those turtlenecks, there was an incredibly beautiful body, but now that he discovered it first hand, he realized she was even more beautiful than he ever thought. Arguably, the fact that he was currently high added to his assessment. The fact that Kate's chest rose and fell to the rhythm of her nervous breathing helped some, too.  
>He let his eyes roam over her body freely-appreciating, admiring, memorizing every curve, every line, every mark.<p>

Kate wanted to stay in control of this particular game and was starting to get extremely embarrassed by Castle's devouring eyes. She felt she had to put him in his place.

"Castle! Hey Castle!" she called. "Stop fantasizing, will you? Focus on the game."

Castle raised his head to meet her eyes.

"No, I... I wasn't fantasizing," he shook his head vigorously to add emphasis to his words.

Beckett lifted an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Oh really? You weren't fantasizing about my body the way you always do even when I'm wearing clothes?"

"What? No, I... I wouldn't. I... No, really... No," he tried to defend himself.

Kate smirked.

"Is that so? You're trying to make me believe that you've never fantasized about me? About us?" She leaned slightly over to him, her voice dropping. "You must have gotten your inspiration for those scenes in your books from somewhere..."

She placed a finger on her collarbone and slowly ran it down to the rim of her bra.

"You've never fantasized about... this?" she continued as her finger softly grazed her skin, sliding along the curves of her breasts.

Castle swallowed hard. His eyes were glued to that finger and followed its path, as she invited him to. His mind emptied of any thought other than Beckett's body.

The detective put one hand on the writer's chest and leaned further, pushing him back, forcing him to lie down on the bed. She ended up on top of him and started playing with the first button on his shirt.

"So, Richard..." she resumed with that same, sultry voice, "you don't want to confess?"

She undid the first button, sliding her hand under his shirt and lightly scratching his torso with her nails. She felt his reaction against her hips and smiled.

"Because your body is telling a very different story."

She brought her lips to Castle's jugular and he bit his lips, firmly.

"Okay, alright! I confess! I confess I've fantasized about you. Several times."

Kate brought her mouth up to his ear and whispered hotly: "Tell me."

Kate Beckett was most definitely an intriguing, unpredictable woman-especially when she was on drugs.

Since Castle did not answer, busy as he was trying to control his reactions, she undid a second button, caressing his exposed torso... Doing absolutely nothing to help him focus.  
>Her mouth captured his earlobe and nibbled at it.<p>

"Tell me Rick, tell me a story..." she whispered, running her fingernails down his abdomen.

Castle whimpered and bucked his hips into Beckett's body.

"I..."

"Tell me," she encouraged as her mouth and tongue explored his neck.

As he felt he was about to completely lose control, Castle took a deep breath and grabbed both of Kate's arms. Using the techniques she'd taught him, he rolled them over, ending up on top of the detective. Once in that position, he took a few seconds to gather his thoughts.  
>With one hand, he caressed the body of the woman who drove him crazy and he felt her skin burn under his touch.<br>Trying very hard to control himself and keep calm, he started his tale, with the same low tone as Beckett.

"We're at the precinct and we're arguing about something or another and then you drag me into the interrogation room..."

His mouth found the tender skin of Beckett's neck and gave it the same attention she had given him a few moments before.

"You're yelling something at me, but I'm not listening. And then all of a sudden..." His lips came up to her ear. "You put your hands behind my neck" – which she did – "and your lips crash against mine" - which they did. His tongue immediately began exploring and tasting the detective's mouth.

When he was satisfied with his explorations, he withdrew slightly, continuing his tale.

"Your hands travel down my torso, gripping my t-shirt and pulling me closer to you." Kate's hands got to work on the remaining buttons of his shirt. "And I circle my arms around your back, lift you up and sit you down on the table." One of Castle's hands brushed against her breasts, traveling down to her stomach and Kate arched her back. "I quickly unbutton your blouse and my mouth assaults your neck"- which it did – "I taste you; my tongue licks every inch of your skin, my teeth mark you... and you moan"- which she did.

Castle's shirt went flying across the room. Kate caressed his torso, letting her fingers slide along his muscles, around his shoulder and on his back. In the meantime, Castle's mouth was busy reproducing his words.

"You wrap your legs around my hips and I slide my hands under your skirt. A few seconds later I take them out, taking with me a mauve laced pair of panties."

Kate bucked her hips against Castle's body and lifted a leg that she placed in the small of his back. Castle dropped burning kisses on her stomach before going back up to her ear.

"Your long fingers quickly get rid of my pants and boxers and with your legs around me, you pull me against you."

Kate's fingers made quick work of Castle's pants and pushed them down his legs. He lifted himself up a moment, to take them off completely and pulling Beckett's sweatpants at the same time. They both ended up in their underwear and he leaned over her body again. His mouth found her ear and he put one hand behind her neck, whispering the rest of his story.

"I capture your lips once more, Kate, because there is nothing I like more in this world than kissing you."

Kate's hips started rocking against his body and he felt himself slowly losing control.

"And with one push in the small of my back, you push me against your body and I'm _in_ you."

His voice became hoarse, panting as he tried to keep control. Kate buried her head in his neck, letting her mouth and tongue act on their own accord and he gripped her hair.

"Our bodies are pressed together as one... we move together..."

Their bodies moved to the same rhythm.

"It feels so good Kate... so... good..."

* * *

><p>When Beckett started to come to, her mind was assaulted by a heavy pounding in her ears. She grumbled and brought a hand to her forehead, trying to subdue the pain. That's when she felt the <em>mattress<em> she was resting on move and emit a noise similar to hers.

"What the..."

She painfully opened an eye and noticed her head was on Castle's bare torso. She then felt the arm he had wrapped around her bare shoulder move.

"_Oh no. This had to be a nightmare. She was not waking up, naked, in Castle's arms."_

She painfully lifted her head up and saw that he was opening an eye, looking at her very strangely. They looked at each other for a moment, both surprised by their current position, having no recollection of how they got there in the first place.

Beckett was the first one to move, quickly sitting up and immediately bringing a hand to her spinning head. She glanced down at her body and let out a somewhat relieved sigh when she realized she was still wearing her underwear.  
>She looked back to Castle who was propping himself up on an elbow. His eyes were barely open and his hair a mess. She actually felt like her own hairdo left something to be desired.<p>

"What huh... Did we...?" she asked, confused.

Castle glanced down at his own body, noticing he was still wearing his boxers and he realized only then what Beckett was wearing, or wasn't.

"Oh. Did we...?"

Beckett turned around and sat down on the edge of the bed, her back to Castle.

"Oh my god!"

She grabbed her hoodie and zipped it up.

"Oh my god!" she repeated.

_What had happened the night before? Why did she not remember anything? She remembered the drugs and the shooting range, taking a shower and... __Scrabble?_

She grabbed her pants and put them on in a swift movement as she got up. The movement made her head spin and she sat back down. Castle, who wasn't in any better shape himself, worried for his partner.

"Kate, are you alright?"

She turned to him.

"Can you tell me what happened last night?"

Castle thought about his answer for a moment; his memory of the previous night was foggy... very foggy. He shook his head, moaning at the pain the movement caused.

"Then no, I'm not alright."

She had just raised her voice and decided that was a very, very bad idea.  
>She grabbed a water bottle while Castle crawled across the bed to pick up his own pair of pants. When he had put them on, he slipped back under the sheets, sprawling himself on the bed.<p>

"What are you doing?"

"Sleep," he answered, completely beat.

In truth, Beckett would also gladly have slipped back under the sheets to hide under the covers, in the dark, and forget about her headache-forget that she had just woken up half naked on top of the writer, forget... or actually, remember. Remember what they'd done the previous night.

Castle protested weakly as she grabbed the duvet and her pillow. She slowly padded over to the couch, eyes half closed.  
>She laid down, pulled the duvet up over her head and hugged the pillow against her body.<p>

_What had they done? She vaguely remembered playing __Scrabble, she remembered the phone and then... a card game? Yes, she seemed to recall playing cards. Poker. And then her clothes... She saw herself on top of Castle, maybe... or was it under? And why did she have a memory of herself in the interrogation room?_

She licked her lips.

_She had kissed him. That much, she knew. But she didn't remember it; she didn't remember his taste, __nor the sensations that his lips had given her. And she wished she could remember at least that... She had touched him, caressed his torso, his back... but she couldn't remember how she'd felt... She couldn't remember._

* * *

><p>When Kate woke up again, the buzzing in her ear was still present but had subdued to a bearable level. She turned around in her half sleep and almost crashed on the floor, having forgotten she was sleeping on the couch.<br>But the second that memory kicked in, a whole series of other memories flooded her mind, although not any more from her night before. She pulled the cover over her face, like a child refusing to face the world.

"What did I do to deserve this?" she muttered, getting off the couch.

She saw that Castle was curled in a ball, sound asleep, and she smiled a little. She noted the cards spread across the bed and on the floor, the only witnesses to their nighttime activities.  
><em>What had they done?<em>

She went to the bathroom, pretty sure that whatever they had done or not done, she deserved a cleansing shower. When she entered the room, she saw the pile of both hers and Castle's clothes on the tiles. Deciding it was useless to try to remember anything for now, she added more clothes to the growing pile and stepped into the shower.

She came back out some time later, carrying all of their clothes to the closet where she got changed. She picked out a beige pair of pants and a burgundy long-sleeved shirt. When she walked back out of the closet, Castle was stretching and yawning. Their eyes met for a brief second before she looked away.

"'Morning," he greeted.

"Good morning, Castle. You can have the bathroom. I'm going to get something to eat."

He didn't fail to notice how she was avoiding eye contact with him and how her tone had grown distant and cold, something she'd stopped doing recently.  
>But, as she disappeared out of the room, he also understood he couldn't blame her for it. Something had happened between them the night before and even if the details were rather blurry, their morning attire attested to activities that went well beyond the innocent Scrabble game he remembered clearly.<br>He sat on the edge of the bed and slid a finger along his lips. He remembered her lips against his, but her taste, the sensations were all gone. He sighed sadly.

"I'm never doing drugs again," he mumbled, padding to the bathroom.

* * *

><p>Beckett was sitting down at the table with a bowl of cereal and an apple when the double doors opened and the scarred man entered. She felt slightly reassured to notice that he looked just as fresh and awake as she did.<p>

A few minutes later, the man joined her at the table with his food and they started eating in silence-until he decided to disturb that silence.

"Did you have a good night with your _honey bear_?"

Beckett's head jerked up and she saw the mocking smile on the man's face.  
><em>Had he heard something? Did he know what had happened? No, that was impossible, their bedroom neighbors were Val and Bully...<em>

"Very good. And yours?" she answered dull.

"Oh, I was high."

During another silent break, Beckett tried to remember the names she had heard Castle read the night before.

"Scap, right?"

The man pretended to bow down over the table.

"At your service ma'am."

It seemed that the merry band of assassins were getting the morning off – or at least what was left of it. Indeed, Beckett hadn't found any piece of paper waiting for them on the table and had concluded they were getting a day off to recuperate. This would be an ideal day to finally start investigating their 'colleagues' properly and find out who the poisoner was.  
>The recent turns of events in this little adventure, from the disappearing dead bodies to the crash in the lake, from the sniper in the woods to the drug induced blackout had given the detective the motivation to end this thing more than ever. She didn't like the unknown; she didn't like not knowing why she was here, who was behind all this, and what was going to happen to them.<br>Since the first day, her instincts were telling her that something was terribly wrong with this story... Her first and biggest concern being that their poisoner had to be among the assassins present and he had to know what the real Trigger and Vendetta looked like. And yet, no one had tried anything against the pair since their arrival.  
>There had been the attack against Castle the first day... But the man seemed more of a strangling type of guy than a poisoner...<br>So, if one of the assassins knew that Castle and herself were fakes, why not do something? Denounce them? It seemed to the detective that another game was being played here, a game between the duo and the poisoner... And she did not like that idea.  
>Thus, it was high time to start investigated and end this, quickly.<p>

"So what brought you to this game, Scap?"

"You mean besides the men in black who brutally kidnapped me as I got out of my favorite joint?"

Well, at least she now knew they had all arrived the same way.

"The fun of the game," he eventually replied with a shrug.

"And..." She took a spoonful of cereal. "What's your lovely specialty?" she asked nonchalantly.

He gave her a smile that was probably meant to be seductive before replying.

"A real pro never reveals his secrets, my dear Vendetta."

Val, who had entered the room without Beckett noticing – which made Beckett quite uneasy – joined the conversation.

"Oh please, Scap! So many secrets, it's so yesterday! You have to be proud of your specialty. Look at me for example, I have no problem saying that my favorite way of killing is... well, let's say it involves close contact."

"Oh, we saw some of that method the other day," replied Scap as his eyes ran up and down the blonde's lithe body.

"And take Trigger and Vendetta, they don't hide their skills. Everyone knows Trigger is a sharp shooter and our lovely French contestant here is a master at handling sharp objects... preferably knives."

Scap smirked at that comment and dug into his plate.  
>Val, who had gotten some breakfast, joined them at the table.<p>

"Your other half isn't with you this morning?"

_Why were they all talking about her 'husband' this morning?_

"He's having trouble getting over last night."

"Oh, I bet he is..." replied Val with a knowing smile and a wink.

Said 'husband' chose that particular time to come into the grand hall.

"Hey! Romeo! We were just talking about you!" called Scap, a little too loud for all the people present in the room.

Castle looked over at Beckett quizzically and she simply shrugged. He walked over to the cupboards and took out the pancake mix.

"What about you, Vendetta?" asked Scap.

"Me what?"

"What brought you here?"

Scap and Val looked at her attentively. She couldn't figure out which one of the two looked more eager to hear her story, but she did not like having to answer that. She hadn't actually thought of an answer, a story. As the wheels in her head spun extra fast, she heard Castle's voice behind her.

"It was my idea."

She turned around, both surprised and relieved, but he was a writer after all.

"I wanted to travel. Vendetta and I had never left Europe before."

He walked over to the table and put his hands – one holding a spatula – on Kate's shoulders.

"So for our wedding anniversary, I wanted us to take a trip. I knew my love here would appreciate the competition, the opportunity to pit our skills against the very best."

Castle leaned over Beckett and dropped a tender kiss on her cheek.

"Right, my love?"

Kate felt her heart beat a little faster and she was sure her cheeks were turning a brighter shade of pink. In a normal situation she would probably have chastised him or slapped him, but this was no ordinary situation and his gesture was actually really sweet.  
>But this sweet kiss coupled to their morning blackout only puzzled her more. <em>Did Castle remember something about the previous night and was he trying to make amends? <em>

"Absolutely right," she answered forcefully.

Their audience barely reacted to their story. One looked down at his plate and grabbed a forkful of ham, while the other looked at the couple with an ounce of tenderness... or mockery, depending.

"And how many years together are you celebrating?" asked Val.

Beckett looked up to Castle.

"Five years. Five years now that this extraordinary woman let's me share her life and her love," he answered, dropping another loving kiss on her forehead.

If Beckett could have disappeared under the table, she would have.  
>So she responded in the only way she knew to this subtle declaration of love.<p>

"I think your pancakes are burning."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: A quick disclaimer about the iPhone... I know iPhones don't ring or have red lights to indicate a dying battery but... it served my purpose so, you'll have to forgive me for that one! xD**

**Hope you enjoyed... ice cubs are in the freezer and cold showers at the end of the corridor to the left!  
><strong>


	9. Match Point

**PARTY OF TWO**

**CHAPTER 8**: **MATCH POINT **

They finished breakfast in silence.

Scap and Val were the first ones to head out and as soon as they passed the double doors, both Beckett and Castle let out sighs of relief.

"That was close!"

"Yeah." She drank some of her coffee before continuing: "I find Scap unnerving."

"Are you kidding me? Unnerving? Of course he's unnerving, the guy kills for a living."

"That doesn't stop you from making googly eyes at Val," she remarked with a tinge of disdain.

"What? I don't make googly eyes!"

"Yeah, no, of course not. You just have trouble focusing when she's around."

"Are you jealous?"

"No!" she retorted a little too fast.

"Not very convincing Kate..."

She took another sip of her coffee, giving herself the time to find something to say.

"To get back to Scap..."

"You're changing the topic, I can't believe it," he mocked her.

"Focus," she demanded, hitting him on the shoulder.

"Ouch!"

"And stop complaining."

"You hit me and I can't complain?"

"Hit you? What are you? Five?"

Castle decided to stay quiet, scared he'd get another tap on the shoulder.

"So, to get back to Scap... My instincts tell me he may be our killer."

"You're gonna say I'm obsessing again but, I'd vote for Val on this one."

"Val? Why do you think it's Val?"

"My instinct, like you."

Beckett snorted.

"Your instinct? I'm not sure we're talking about the same 'instinct' here."

His ego offended, Castle stood up and left the main hall to return to their bedroom, leaving Beckett to clean up their breakfast.

When he pushed the door open, he noticed a piece of paper on the floor and picked it up. He looked around the corridor, looking for the person who might have slipped that paper under the door. Unsurprisingly, there was no one there. He shrugged and unfolded the paper. Behind him, he heard Beckett come in and close their door.

"Hey honey, we've got mail," he said, smiling. "If it's another bill, we burn it. Agreed?"

The detective's lips twitched into a brief smile and she stepped to his side to read the contents of the paper: "_It's time to prove your true worth with a gun. Choose your weapon and carry eight bullets. Give us your very best. Go to the shooting range."_

"Now, _that_ sounds like something fun."

"Another shooting challenge," commented Beckett with less enthusiasm.

"Yeah, but at least this time, we won't be drugged."

"Still, they could diversify a bit."

"You're always complaining..."

She rolled her eyes and walked past him. She was in no mood for another challenge, still upset over her memory loss.  
>Castle walked over to the chest drawer and opened the second drawer, the one containing all his toys.<p>

"So, let's see what we've got here... What weapon am I going to choose? I have to be brilliant on this one."

He proudly put his fists on his hips.

"I'm supposed to be an excellent shot, as Val pointed out earlier."

Beckett had sat down on the bed, but was too busy trying to piece together her memories to listen to Castle and simply gave him a "Hmm" of acknowledgment. He stopped his search and turned to her.

"Kate, forget about last night okay?"

She stood up and gave him an angry look.

"_Forget_? I don't want to _forget_ Castle! I want to remember!"

"Maybe it's best not to."

She took a few steps, getting menacingly close to him.

"'Best not to?' Why do I have a feeling you remember more about last night than you're letting on?"

As she walked closer to him, he backed away, trying to avoid her, until his back hit the wall.

"No! I can assure you I don't remember any more than you do."

"So what do you mean by 'best not to remember,' then?"

"Nothing! I'm just saying, maybe it's not worth torturing yourself over it. You're not going to remember any faster by thinking about it over and over again. Our memories will come back, eventually, let's just... give it time. It's just like inspiration—the more you seek it, the less you find it."

She stared at him a moment, considering his words before letting out a frustrated sigh. She grabbed the first gun she could find in the drawers with its matching bullets and she walked out the door, slamming it behind her.

When hurricane 'Beckett' left the room, Castle relaxed against the wall and shook his head.

"_Women... I'll never understand them,_" he thought.

He looked inside the open drawer, looking for his favorite toy: his Beretta. Not finding it there, he searched around the room, trying to remember what he had done with the gun. His eyes came to the bed and he hit his forehead with his palm, remembering he'd put it there the night before. He walked over to it and yanked the covers off. But the gun was nowhere to be found.

"Note to self: next time you take drugs, write down everything you do."

He straightened up and tried to think of possible locations, but the strain on his brain gave him a headache.

"Second note to self: next time, just don't take the drugs. At least that way you'll remember where you put your gun."

He sat down on the bed, convinced he had put the gun there and trying to figure out where it could have gone. He scoured the room with his eyes, looking for some kind of clue. When that didn't work he got up and started pacing.

"Maybe I should just get another gun."

He thought about that possibly and then shook his head.

As he turned around for the last time, he froze, a light bulb going off in his head. He climbed on the bed and crawled across it, leaning over the edge of the far end to inspect the floor underneath. He grinned happily when he saw the much-missed weapon lying on the floor.

"Come to daddy..." he coaxed, grabbing it.

He picked out new bullets and walked out the door.

* * *

><p>Kate left the hotel, angry and frustrated by this whole situation they were in. She hated not being in control. And she hated not remembering parts of her night.<p>

"_Why did I ever __let him come to the opera with me? I knew it was a bad idea."_

She followed the same path they'd taken the day before. Lost in her thoughts, she walked between the trees, kicking the dead branches that had fallen on the ground. The lonely, peaceful walk in the forest allowed her to calm down and gather her thoughts.

"_I'm never taking drugs again. Ever._"

She reached the clearing a few minutes later and saw their targets, in the same place as before. She noticed that some of the other contenders had already made it to the shooting range and were waiting for the rest of the group to show up.

Behind her, she heard approaching footsteps and turned around to see the small redhead – the one she had deduced was nicknamed "Volcanic."

"You lost your husband on the way?" she asked with a kind smile.

"He must be in the room."

"Oh I see... long night."

Beckett's cheeks turned redder. Had they actually all heard something?

"Well, whatever, I just hope he's in good shape for the challenge."

"Oh don't worry about him, he's got stamina."

Beckett winced when she realized what she'd just said and how it could be interpreted. How it _was_ interpreted, in fact, as Volcanic's smile grew wider.

"I'm looking forward to seeing his skills. They say he's an excellent shooter. And I do love a challenge!"

She walked past the detective, spinning her Smith &Wesson 500 around her index finger with ease.

Volcanic was confident she'd win this round.

Guns were her specialty and she handled them better than anyone in the business. Growing up in the Yukon had helped her acquire such a taste for the weapons. That's where she had learned to hunt. At a very young age, she was already a sharp shooter with a shotgun and then she'd moved on to guns of all sorts. In fact, it was no coincidence that her nickname was 'Volcanic' – after the pistol of the same name.

* * *

><p>Beckett walked over to the group of assassins and took out her gun, ready to shoot. She looked over her shoulder, searching for her '<em>husband.<em>' It seemed they all needed to be present to start shooting and the writer was taking his sweet time.  
>Despite his advice, she couldn't help but spend every second of her time trying to remember what had happened. The more she tried, however, the foggier her memory got. She sighed. These past few days really hadn't been a walk in the park.<br>She'd shot a man. A man she could have just injured but had chosen to kill. Why? Because he was strangling Castle? Because she was scared, scared of losing him in that instant? How she felt about Castle was as confusing as her memories. She shook her head to kick those thoughts away.

But Castle still wasn't anywhere to be seen, and she started to grow impatient, tapping her foot on the ground.

"_Don't make me come get you Castle,_" she thought just as a figure appeared from between the trees.

Castle walked over to Beckett's side nonchalantly. She gestured that he was late but he simply shrugged it off. He took his gun out, ready for the games to begin.

"May the best win," declared Volcanic.

Castle gave her a winning smile.

"Make me proud," whispered Beckett to her pretend husband.

Castle made a show of cracking his neck left and right before pointing his gun to the targets. He fired first and the others followed.

After the first few rounds, they all gave quick glances at their opponents' targets.

Seeing his score, Castle looked over at Volcanic who was grinning proudly.

"Looks like I beat you."

"For now," he retorted, "I've still got four bullets."

"So do I."

They smiled at each other, under Beckett's annoyed look. Volcanic caught the detective's burning eyes and added:

"Your wife looks like the jealous type, isn't she?"

Castle smirked.

"That's what I keep saying! But she denies it."

He turned to Beckett, but as soon as he saw her incendiary look, he dropped his smile.

"Focus, _honey_."

They got back to their positions and fired their remaining bullets in a loud series of bangs.

They all walked over to their targets to see their exact scores. The writer's eyes grew wide in surprise when he saw that, he had not only beaten most of the other contestants, but more importantly, he had beaten Beckett. He turned to her, a smile stretched from ear to ear.

"I guess I won then," commented the redhead upon seeing her score.

Volcanic's voice kicked Castle off of his happy cloud.

"Yeah," he replied bitterly. "But not by much."

"It doesn't matter. I still beat you, Trigger."

Volcanic let out a small mocking laugh and left the couple behind, heading back with the other contestants to the hotel.

"Did you see that? I came second!" proclaimed Castle victoriously once the killjoy was out of earshot.

"Yippee for you," replied Beckett flatly.

"Wow! So much happiness in your voice, I'm speechless... you could at least pretend to be happy that I finished at the top."

"Great. I'm happy," she said with as much energy as before.

"You're sulking because I beat you?"

He elbowed her teasingly in the ribs as they started walking off.

"Come on, admit it, you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous."

"Then why the long face?"

"I'm not doing a long face."

"Yes you are."

"I'm not."

"Kate... I can see something is bothering you. What is it?"

She looked right into the writer's eyes, thinking about telling him what was on her mind before deciding against it.

"You didn't do it on purpose, did you?" Castle asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Did what on purpose?"

"Losing. I mean, for our cover I'm supposed to be better than you with guns so maybe..."

"Maybe nothing Castle. You won, fair and square."

Castle's pride took over once more and he puffed up his chest, his grin firmly back on his face.

"So I really beat you huh?"

"Yeah. Don't boast okay, it's really unnerving."

"Don't boast? Are you kidding me? I'm the only non-professional around these parts and I kicked their asses!"

Castle started doing a little victory dance on his spot and Beckett rolled her eyes and walked off, not waiting for the writer to follow her back to the hotel.

* * *

><p>Beckett reached their room ahead of Castle who had stopped in the kitchen on his way back.<p>

Inside their room, she immediately noticed the folded piece of paper waiting for them on the bed. The name "_Trigger_" was written on it but she unfolded nonetheless. She checked to see if Castle was in the vicinity and when she didn't see him, she read on: "_A challenge isn't truly interesting if your opponent can't retaliate. Tonight, you will face the winner of the previous challenge in a duel to the death. If one of you refuses to show up, you will both be eliminated. Be at the clearing at eight, sharp. Weapons will be provided._"  
>The piece of paper fell off Beckett's hand and landed on the floor. Castle would be facing Volcanic, the best shooter out there.<br>She sat down on the bed, feeling her legs start to shake. Her eyes were empty, her body limp but her mind was racing, trying to find a way to get Castle out of this. She was more than ready to admit that in a shooting range Castle was pretty good, but in duel... that was a whole different story. And she had to prevent it.

"_We could run,_" she started thinking. "_No, they're watching our every movement, we'd be dead within minutes_." She got up and started pacing around the room. "_We could barricade ourselves in... Except the phone only works outside, we'd have no way out._"

She picked up the paper, reading it over and over again, hoping she had misunderstood the message or she had imagined it all. But no matter how many times she read it, the words were still the same.

She felt sick and totally responsible. She should never have deliberately missed the center just to let him finish second and confirm his cover. If anyone should do this duel, it should be her. He wasn't a cop. It wasn't his place. In fact, the second they'd been kidnapped she should have put an end to this. She had already put him in danger once; she should never have done it again. This was too dangerous. Whoever was behind this whole masquerade wasn't above killing people who refused to bend to their will; they had been witnesses of that. These people were organized, smart, and dangerous... They should have run a long time ago.

She resumed her pacing.

"_We should just say we're the police._" She kicked the nearby couch to punish herself for even thinking that. "_Yeah right, might as well shoot ourselves right now._"

The creaking of the door behind her made her jump and surprised Castle who was coming in. He closed the door and stepped inside, holding a plate in his hands.

"I made you a sandwich," he offered, handing it to her.

But she didn't move, she didn't react, she just stared at him.

"You're not hungry? Or maybe you don't like it..." He looked at his sandwich. "I put some ham and some lettuce and tomatoes..."

He kept looking at her intently, waiting for some sort of reaction.

"You don't like tomatoes, is that it? I knew it, I shouldn't have put..."

"Castle," she cut him off, rather firmly.

He frowned, surprised by her hostile tone and her distraught appearance.

"Did I do something wrong? Because you look like I did something wrong, or... Did you see a ghost?"

"We need to get out of here."

"Oh, you scared me, I thought it was something serious." He let out a relieved sigh. "Okay, get out... there's no rush, is there?"

He took a bite of his own sandwich while laying Beckett's on the nightstand.

"No, Castle. I mean we have to leave now!"

"Now? As in... Right this second?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

She walked over to the drawers to pick up her glock.

"Kate?"

She then went to the closet and took out a vest.

"Kate, you're scaring me. What's going on?"

He grabbed her arm to stop her and get an answer.

"Why now Kate? What's going on? Is it because of last night?"

"What? No! Just... Don't argue okay. We need to get out of here, now."

The writer refused to move or to let go of Kate's arm until he got a proper answer and she deliberately avoided his eyes, incapable of looking at him.

"Tell me what's going on," he pleaded.

She understood he wouldn't listen to her until he got an answer and they needed to get moving. So, she took the paper and handed it to him. He took it and calmly read it. When he was done, he put it slowly on the bed.

"_That's_ why you want to leave?"

"Did you just not read what was on that paper? They want you to have a duel... to the death... with Volcanic. You don't stand a chance."

"Thank you for your trust," he replied bitterly.

"Come out of your fantasy world, Castle. This isn't one of your books, you don't get to write the ending here. The people behind _this_ are the only ones who do."

"Hey, I came out second at that challenge for a reason, don't you think?"

Kate sighed, exasperated by the writer's stubbornness and recklessness.

"How do you think you managed that, huh?"

"You let me win?" he asked, intrigued.

"Of course."

"That was... nice."

"No it wasn't, it was stupid! I should be doing this duel, not you."

Castle's ego was slightly bruised by the detective's lack of confidence in him.

"You don't think I can win this, do you?"

"Win? Castle, this isn't a game!"

"I know, thanks. I got that when we got tased, when that guy tried to strangle me, when we almost drowned... I know it's not a game!"

"So why do you look like you want to play? You're going to be facing Volcanic. You really think she's gonna do you a favor and miss her target like I did?"

"And why are you so convinced that I'm going to lose this? You know it wouldn't hurt if for once you actually trusted me."

"This has got nothing to do with trust Castle. I just..."

She grew silent and he waited, looking at her intently, urging her to say it, to say what she was feeling. But she chose silence instead. He shook his head and headed to the closet to pick out a jacket.

"I'm gonna do this duel Kate. And you'll see... I'll win it."

He walked out of the room, leaving a stunned Kate behind him. It took her a few seconds to realize he had just walked out and that she should follow him. When she stepped into the corridor, she saw him disappear behind the double doors.

In the hall, she saw him there, sitting at the table, his back to the door. He was nervously tapping on the table with his fingertips, thinking. Kate slowly walked over and took a seat next to him.

"You don't have to prove anything Rick," she said softly.

He looked at her and sighed.

"I'm not trying to Kate. But we can't leave. We're here to find this killer. And someone I admire recently told me that no matter who the victim is, the person responsible must be punished."

Kate's fist hit the table hard and made Castle jump.

"You don't get it! This is a duel to the _death_. I don't deny that you're a good shooter, Rick, but this... you..."

She hesitated before continuing, looking for the right words.

"I what? I don't stand a chance?" he completed for her.

"No. I just... I don't want you to take that risk. Did you think about Alexis? Your mother? M-"

She stopped right there and changed her words.

"I mean, you've got a family, Castle."

"So do you, Kate. And if it were you, you'd do it. So how am I any different?"

He didn't wait for an answer before he left the hall, heading back to the room.

It was almost time.

"I just couldn't stand to lose you," she whispered when he was gone.

* * *

><p>Back in the bedroom, he lay down on the couch, a hand behind his head, thoughtful.<p>

She walked in a few minutes after, without looking at him, and went over to the window. She crossed her arms over her chest and observed the trees bending under the force of the wind. Eventually she turned her head to him.

"Maybe I could take your place."

He smiled and sat up. He looked her up and down and smiled again.

"No offense Kate, but I doubt you could pass as me out there."

"I'm serious, Castle."

"Out of the question."

"Why?"

He stood up and went to her; and the closer he got, the more she backed away until the window stopped her and he got closer still, their breath mingling. This proximity made her extremely nervous, especially after the previous night but she remained stoic. He put his hands on both sides of her head, on the window behind. She was stuck. He saw the utter surprise in her eyes and a tinge of worry. With one hand, he lifted her chin up and plunged his blue eyes into hers.

"For the same reasons you don't want me to go, Kate," he told her softly.

She blushed. He read her like an open book.  
>He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.<br>Despite his dry throat and the knot in his stomach, he tried to use a calm, self-assured tone.

"Everything is going to be fine, I promise."

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before he turned away. She let out the breath she was holding, relieved that he had backed off. Then she looked up at the writer who was walking away.

"Where are you going?"

"It's time. And I wouldn't want to be late for my execution."

He closed the door behind him before she could say anything. He knew she hated it when he joked about these things, but it helped him deal with the fear.

When he stepped outside the hotel, reality hit him in the face. He hesitated a moment, tempted to just make a run for it - and even add some screaming in the mix, the hell with dignity. He took a deep breath and took a step onto the path leading to the clearing, and then another. He wasn't exactly sure this was such a good idea; he really wasn't convinced he could win this thing...

* * *

><p>The trip leading them to the clearing was very quiet. Castle walked ahead, observing the trees, the sky, the ground, and the trees again... Anything to take his mind off of what was going to happen. But truly, the distractions were useless and countless thoughts invaded his mind.<p>

"_What if it all goes wrong? Maybe Beckett's right, we should get out of this place; start running and never turn back... But where would we go? We don't even know where we are..." _

He kicked a branch.

"_And what would it look like if I gave up? Kate wouldn't give up. Kate never gives up."_

He briefly turned his head to look at the detective.

"_She would fight until the end. She's Beckett! Why couldn't I do the same?"_

Kate followed just a few steps behind him, head hung low, lost in her own string of unhappy thoughts.

After a few moments of hesitation, she broke the heavy silence.

"Wait."

He stopped, wondering what she was going to say now and turned around.

"No, Kate."

"You don't even know what I want to say."

"Yes I do, I can see it in your eyes."

She sighed.

"The offer still stands, you know."

He was touched by her offer of course, but he couldn't accept it. He could never accept a trade of his place on death row for Kate's.

"I know, Kate. And if the situation were reversed, you'd say the same thing... And trust me, it's not a small redhead, cute as she may be, that will be the end of this writer, Nuh-huh!"

He smiled with as much conviction as possible before resuming his walk.

"_Once more, with feeling now..._" she thought as she followed him.

* * *

><p>They reached the clearing where they found a table with two black cases on top. One was already open. Volcaninc was standing in front of it and took out a pistol from it. She spun the gun around her index finger with satisfaction and smiled in anticipation. She saw the two figures approach and turned to them.<p>

"I thought for a moment that the great Trigger had forfeited."

"Are you kidding me?"

"So, why are you late?"

"No reason, other than I like to feel desired."

He still tried to ease the tension in the atmosphere, as much for the women present as for him. But this time, humor didn't work and the knot on his stomach seemed quite determined to stay put.

"Just out of curiosity, Volcanic... It is Volcanic, right?"

"Right."

"What would you have done if I hadn't shown?"

"I would have come to drag your ass down here. There is no way I would have been eliminated because you were too chicken to face me."

Volcanic's eyes traveled over to Beckett who had stayed a few steps behind

"Aww, your wife came with you, how darling!"

The redhead let out a snigger and walked over to a mark on the ground. Castle noticed there was another one a few meters away, indicating the positions the duelists should take.

Castle went over to the table and opened the second black case. Inside, he found a Cattleman revolver. His first reflex was to look inside the cylinder: it was fully loaded.

"_What did you expect?_" he thought. "_That it would all be a joke?_"

He holstered the gun and only then noticed the instructions paper set between the two cases. It read: _At the sound of the gunshot, shoot._

He swallowed hard. He glanced over at Beckett who was still standing away from them, perfectly motionless. His eyes traveled over to the mark on the ground and with a stoic face he walked over to it.  
>His breathing was getting unmistakably harder and he couldn't manage to overcome the anxiety that overtook him. He felt as though his whole body was going numb and he couldn't control any of it.<p>

* * *

><p>Both feet slightly apart, arms straightened along his body, he felt his heartbeat increase with each second that went by. He tried best he could to hide his anxiety and not give himself away to his opponent. He clenched his teeth a little harder to try to rein in his growing apprehension.<p>

"_The real Trigger wouldn't be nervous,"_ he repeated to himself, _"you're going to be fine."_

He thought about Alexis, about his mother, New York, the opera, Beckett... and a whole series of small memories invaded his mind, reminding him what was at stake. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a brief moment and, when he opened them again, he set them on Volcanic. Unconsciously, the fingers of his right hand did a little dance, as though warming up to grab the gun as fast as possible and shoot first.

He waited for the signal. That one gunshot that would be the sound of his death.

His legs were getting shaky from staying in the same position, tensed. He shook them and spread them further apart for a better stance. He looked for a sign, anything that would tell give him a clue as to when the gunshot would sound. But there was nothing. All he could see was Volcanic and Beckett further behind. Other than that there were only trees; trees as far as the eye could see. But what really unnerved him was the silence... A deadly silence.

"_Third note to self: next time you're challenged to a duel, listen to your instincts... and run!"_

The signal finally came. The sound broke the heavy silence of the clearing. It also made the writer jump.

He lost precious seconds in that moment.

He felt as though time had slowed down.  
>He watched Volcanic, her hand already on her gun.<br>He was barely touching the grip of his own.

She had already drawn.  
>It was too late, she was ahead of him and he knew it.<br>She pointed her gun towards him, closed an eye to aim.  
>He wasn't even that far yet.<br>His hand on the gun, he was only just drawing his weapon-

He was going to lose. He knew it.

A second shot rang through the silence, scaring of a few crows that were resting on a nearby tree.  
>The sound seemed to bounce off the surrounding trees to come back even stronger to the writer's ears.<p>

Volcanic was still standing and smoke came out of her gun. She was staring at him, a smirk on her face. She watched him as he struggled to stay on his feet. In truth, she was only waiting for him to point his gun at her so she could fire a second time.

The sweet, innocent-looking redhead now looked positively lethal.

The force of the impact cut his breath and forced him to take a step backwards.  
>His eyes fell down on his hand pressed against where the pain stung him, on his abdomen.<br>He was still holding his weapon firmly in the other hand, refusing to let go.  
>He felt his legs giving up, his knees buckling.<br>He felt his body falling backwards.  
>He couldn't control anything anymore.<p>

He thought he heard Beckett call to him.  
>Or maybe he dreamed it.<p>

He took another step back, trying to stay on his feet.  
>It was pointless.<br>His whole body collapsed on the grass.  
>His right arm fell on the ground and his fingers loosened their grip on the gun...<p> 


	10. For Better and For Worse

**A/N: Since last chapter did end on a "bit" of a cliffhanger, I've decided to post the following chapter rather quickly to avoid any deaths threats.**

* * *

><p><strong>PARTY OF TWO<strong>

**CHAPTER 9: FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE**

The forest suddenly seemed so small, so oppressive... On their first day, they had walked between the trees for hours and it had seemed enormous, endless to her... But now, somehow, the road to the clearing appeared a lot shorter. As if someone had intentionally cut out a portion of this cursed forest.  
>She was still looking for a way out of this situation, out of this nightmare. Because this whole thing <em>had<em> to be a nightmare. She was still in her bed, a few days earlier, and soon she would wake up and laugh about this odd dream.  
>It had to be a nightmare. It had to be.<p>

They reached the clearing way too soon for her liking. Castle walked over to Volcanic and she decided to stay behind.

No matter how much she thought about their situation, she could not find a way out. All the scenarios she came up with lead to most certain death, for both of them.

And if the writer didn't die... was the other possibility really any better?  
>No matter the outcome, Castle wouldn't come out of this duel the same man... his body, or his soul would come out bruised, wounded, for life.<br>Because even if he did manage to draw and shoot before Volcanic, he would have killed a woman in cold blood. For Trigger, that would only have been one more death in a long list of other murders. But for Castle, it would be a first – at least she hoped so – and she didn't wish that kind of first time for anyone. She knew too well that feeling that had swept over her every time she'd had to kill someone. And she knew the writer well enough to know the impact it would have on him.

She observed him as he reached the weapons at his disposal. A faint smile appeared on her face when she saw him check the cylinder. A real pro. For a moment she even hoped he'd turn to her and signal that it was in fact empty and all this was just a big joke. But the grim look on his face told her this was no joke. This was happening. And he was going to get shot.

A series of thoughts ran through her mind, the most overwhelming of them being that she could never stand losing him.  
>When that particular thought found lodging in her head, her heart sank low.<br>She had known for a long time that deep down she wasn't all that indifferent to the writer's charm, annoying as he could be. But admitting to herself that she could never stand losing him was another thing entirely. And yet, as he walked bravely to his mark on the grass, she felt tears welling up in her eyes.

Could it be that the moment she admitted and accepted her love for the writer he would be taken away from her?

Part of her wanted to run to the middle of that clearing, to step between the two duelists—to take Castle's hand and run away... Away from the forest, from this game, away from their friends, their lives... Escape. Forget.  
>Another part of her, however, was frozen to the spot. She was rendered motionless by fear, anxiety and pain. She felt the tears roll down her cheeks and she didn't try to stop them.<p>

She stared at Castle intently. She wished he'd look over to her. She wished for one last look. To let him know... that she loved him, admired him... And that she was sorry. So sorry... Sorry that he got involved in all this, sorry that she hadn't been able to protect him, sorry for letting him win this stupid challenge and sorry... for never telling him how much he meant to her.

Just one look.  
>She would have wanted one more look.<p>

A gunshot rang through the silence.  
>When she didn't see Castle immediately reach for his gun, she felt her legs start to give out and her heart stopped beating.<p>

They say you see your life flash before your eyes when you're about to die...  
>Beckett found out that when you're about to lose the man you love without ever telling him so, you also see your own life flash before your eyes.<p>

"_Where would you like it?"  
>"Looks like I have a fan."<br>"Do you know why I chose you as my inspiration for Nikki Heat? "  
>"I've gotten used to you pulling my pigtails."<br>"I meant it. You are extraordinary. "  
>"Until tomorrow, detective."<em>

A second gunshot sounded across the clearing and Beckett was already running to Castle.

"Richard!"

The distance separating her from him suddenly seemed gigantic. Her legs couldn't run fast enough... She was running, and yet she felt like she was walking in slow motion.

She saw his body fall back.  
>She stopped in her tracks when he crashed on the ground.<p>

"Cas-"

The name that could have ended it all never made it past the lump in her throat.

She picked up her run and fell down on her knees when she reached him.

Castle was lying there, motionless, his muscles completely limp and his hand open around his gun.

In the corner of her eye she detected the movement of the redhead who was walking over.  
>Beckett didn't even think as she grabbed the unfired gun, pointing it up at Volcanic who immediately stopped.<br>Her arm was shaking but at this distance, she was certain she couldn't miss her target.  
>And it would have been so easy to press that trigger, to put down the one who had torn her heart out.<p>

She wanted to.

"Give me one good reason not to shoot you right now," she threatened, swallowing back her tears.

Volcanic raised her hands without much alarm.

"Hmm... Maybe because your lover boy isn't dead..."

Behind her, Beckett heard a moan.

The gun fell down in a muted thud on the grass and she turned to Castle, her fingers finding his shirt and unbuttoning it.

"Rick?" she called, frantically opening the shirt to reveal his abdomen. "Rick, are you okay?"

She let out a relieved sigh, mixed in with a sob when she found no bullet hole on his abdomen, only the trace of a future bruise.

Castle opened his eyes and saw that the sky above them was turning dark.

"Am I dead?"

Beckett dried her tears and looked up at the writer who was propping himself up on one elbow, laying a hand where there should have been a hole.

"I'm not dead?" He lifted his eyes up to Volcanic. "Ha! You missed!"

Beckett and Volcanic both rolled their eyes.

"Oh no, I didn't miss, Trigger, quite the contrary. But they gave us blanks... Unfortunately," she added sotto voce.

"You mean all this was fake?"

She shrugged in disappointment and headed out of the clearing, leaving the shaken couple behind.

"I'm not dead!" repeated Castle with a small laugh, followed by another, and another until the pain in his abdomen made laughing painful. "Wow! That was a close one!" he concluded with a smile.

He calmed his laughter and looked over at Beckett for the first time. She was motionless, stunned by his reaction, torn between the desire to slap him and kiss him. She chose neither.

Green and blue met and mingled. And for a moment, the world disappeared.

She had almost lost him.  
>He had almost lost her.<p>

Castle's hand found Beckett's, which was lying on his abdomen, and he squeezed it gently.

"I'm fine," she heard him whisper, but the words sounded hollow.

"You're fine," she repeated to convince herself.

And then there was silence.

All the emotions that the detective was feeling boiled up to the surface: fear, love, sadness, anger... an explosive cocktail, an uncontrollable cocktail. Too many emotions, too many thoughts, too many things to say, to do... Too much... It was too much.

"Don't ever do that again!"

Beckett broke the silence with anger in her voice, taking her hand back in the process.

"What?"

Kate got back on her feet, already walking away from the writer. The latter got up with a painful groan.

"Son of... Those things hurt like hell!"

He looked down at his abdomen and a faint smile appeared on his face at the thought of the future war wound that would appear there. When he lifted his head back up, Beckett was disappearing between the trees.

"Hey, Kate, wait up!" he called, painfully quickening his pace.

He managed to reach her as the hotel came into view.

"You know... I actually almost got her, I was this close!"

Beckett didn't respond, furiously walking to the building.

When they reached it and she was about to go inside, Castle grabbed her arm and held her back, forcing her to turn around and face him for the first time since the clearing.

"Kate? What's wrong?"

Her eyes grew wider.

"What's wrong? What is wrong?" she repeated louder and louder, incredulous. "You're unbelievable!"

She yanked her arm away and stepped into the hotel, Castle on her heels.

"Geez Kate, what did I do?"

She pushed the double doors open with fury.

"Oh, you mean apart from being 'this close' to getting yourself killed? Apart from laughing like an idiot at the thought of escaping death? Apart from..."

"It's not like I did it on purpose!" he interrupted. "And in retrospect, yeah, I think it was a rather fun challenge."

She stopped in front of their door, grabbed his arm and pushed him inside. Scap's watched, amused, as he walked past them. She shot him a dirty look and the scarred man immediately lost his smile. Then she stepped into their bedroom.

"Fun?"

She closed the door behind her with a kick and gave Castle a menacing look.

"Fun?" she repeated pressing on his abdomen. "You find _this_ fun?"

He grimaced at her touch.

"It wasn't real!" he countered.

She threw her arms up in the arm and dropped them to her side, frustrated by his carelessness.

"At least I'm not dead."

"Yet. But keep being so careless and that may change."

She walked past him and into the living area.

"Can't you take anything seriously?"

"I already told you, I need to laugh about those things to get over them."

"Well it's stupid!"

She turned her back on him, sending her shoes flying across the room.

"Death isn't funny Castle! And what if those bullets had been real ones, huh? Did you think about that? Did you think about Alexis, your mother?"

Her "_me_" died on her lips.

"So much worry for my well-being detective, I'm flattered," he said bitterly.

"Don't be," she replied coldly, heading towards the closet.

She didn't understand where all her anger was coming from, all that bitterness that reached to the surface and tainted all the words coming out of her mouth, but she needed to let it out. She needed to let go of all the pressure bottled up and anger was the easiest, most manageable emotion she knew. It was also the most acceptable for her.

He walked to the chest of drawers and put the pistol he had kept as a souvenir inside. When he turned around, he saw she was now wearing a sweater.

"Listen, I understand you're a bit shaken up by everything that's happened," he started, taking her place in the closet while she put her knives away in the drawers, "but I'm okay Kate, you can relax now."

"You really don't understand anything!" she spit back, violently shutting the drawer.

He jumped at the noise and came back out with a sweater on his shoulders as well.

"Apparently not."

Once more, they exchanged places as he walked to the desk and she to the couch. Her eyes were unusually dark with anger. He had seen many expressions pass over her eyes, most of them a variation on the theme of anger, but this particular shade was new to him.  
>Sometimes, he really wished there was an instruction manual to interpret Kate Beckett's looks. But without such a manual, he chanced a theory.<p>

"Your anger wouldn't have anything to do with last night would it?"

"Oh please, get over yourself!" she answered with disdain. "Last night was a mistake. We were high on... God knows what! And I swear Castle if you talk about last night to anyone I'll..."

"I know, I know, you'll shoot me, strangle me or any other threat ending with my death. Am I right?"

Two could play the same game and if she was so intent on passing her nerves on him, he wasn't going to roll over and die.

She shot him a dirty look in response and turned her back on him.

"You don't have to worry, detective. Last night probably wasn't worth remembering anyway."

She curled her hands into fists and clenched her jaw, furiously biting her lower lips in the process, his words hurting more than the teeth sinking into her skin.  
>Did he really know what had happened between them? Had he recovered his memory more than he was letting on? Did he know how far they had gone?<p>

"It kills you, doesn't it? To think that for a few hours you actually lost control. To think that for a few moments I got to see another side of you than the cold and distant woman you are."

She closed her eyes, hoping it would block out his voice, block out the words that were piercing her heart like tiny daggers. But as soon as she closed them, the image of Castle falling onto the ground assaulted her, reviving her pain, reviving her anger.

"You don't have to worry about your reputation, Beckett," he continued, "no one will know that for one night, one very short night you let go, you had fun."

She opened her eyes and turned around.

"Fun? What makes you think I had any _fun_?"

"I was with you, Beckett," he reminded her.

"We were drugged, Castle!"

"And you just love to use that as an excuse, don't you? Because admitting that for once in your life you actually had some fun would be too hard to face."

"I don't need to be drugged to have fun, Castle. I have plenty of fun... without you! I don't need you in my life to have _fun_. In fact I don't need you in my life, period."

She turned her back on him, cursing the room for suddenly becoming so small. She considered finding refuge in the bathroom, but Beckett wasn't the type to back down. If only he would leave. If only he could leave her alone—alone with her pain, with her fear, with the realization that with his words, the man she loved was hurting her more than she could ever admit.

"I don't need you," she repeated in a whisper.

Who was she trying to convince? Him? Or herself?  
>She bit her lip, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill out.<p>

A few minutes went by in silence and she wondered what he was doing behind her back. But she didn't want to turn around, knowing that right now her face would betray all the emotions she was feeling.

Then she heard his voice, a soft whisper, almost inaudible.

"Is it so hard to admit what you feel?"

And then she heard the door open and close.  
>She grabbed the pillow on the couch and sent it smashing against the wall.<p>

* * *

><p>Castle left the hotel and picked up a few rocks from the ground. He started throwing them with force, the wound on his abdomen killing him with each movement, but he didn't care.<p>

"How freaking stubborn!"

Another series of rocks went flying and bouncing on the others.

"And what an idiot I am!"

"You're talking to the rocks?"

He turned around, surprised to hear Val's voice behind him.  
>She stepped to his side as he threw another rock.<p>

"I'm glad you're still alive," she told him with a warm smile.

He looked at her and studied her expression a moment before deciding to return her smile.

"So am I."

They stayed side by side a few minutes as Castle continued throwing rocks around, with less vigor.

"Marital troubles?"

He simply shrugged as an answer.

"Give her time. She must have been so worried... She didn't want to lose you." Val laid a hand on Castle's arm. "I can understand her."

She gave his arm a little squeeze, smiling appreciatively at his muscles and released him. She stepped away but not before leaning over his shoulder and whispering in his ear: "If you ever want to talk about it, my door is wide open... from six to ten," she added with a smile he didn't see.

* * *

><p>When Castle returned to their room an hour later, all the lights were turned off, save for a small lamp above the double bed. He noticed that said bed was empty. Looking over at the couch, he saw Beckett lying down on her side, her back to him.<p>

He sighed and, making as little noise as possible, he took off his clothes and slipped under the covers.

Automatically, he curled into a ball on Beckett's side of the bed and brought the covers over his face. The day had been long and eventful.  
>They had said horrible things to each other and he could only hope that the night would bridge the gap that had formed between them.<br>With a pang in the heart at that thought, he turned off the light.

* * *

><p>When the room was plunged in complete darkness, Kate let her tears fall freely down her cheeks.<p> 


	11. Sense and Sensibility

**A/N: I haven't said it in a while, but _wingsss_ you're kind of awesome for beta-reading this story *hug***

* * *

><p><strong>PARTY OF TWO<strong>

**CHAPTER 10: SENSE AND SENSIBILITY**

The sound of the bedroom door unlocking woke the writer up from a very unpleasant and short night. Sleep had evaded him. His abdomen hurt him continuously, never giving him a second of respite, no matter how he lay down.  
>Pushing on his right arm, he sat up on the bed and immediately looked over at the couch. She was still there, buried under the blanket. Only her lovely, peaceful face poked out. He smiled faintly at the image before the memory of their argument resurfaced and spoiled the moment. It was official; they really were acting like a couple, right down to their fights.<br>Castle sighed and got up painfully. He went into the closet and grabbed a white shirt and a pair of jeans before disappearing into the bathroom. He stopped in front of the mirror and looked at the large wound that was changing colors on his skin. His battle wound. Somehow he didn't feel so proud of it anymore.  
>He stepped into the shower,, head hung low.<p>

Over on the couch, Kate was awake. She, too, had had a dreadful night. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the writer falling down on the grass and was reminded that she hadn't protected him. _To Protect and To Serve_ was the motto of all police officers, but she felt like a failure. She had no right to put Castle in danger in the name of a case. She was the cop; it was her duty to protect him... Her duty.  
>She knew that she was not the easiest woman to get to know. She wasn't a sharer. She couldn't help it, she was too afraid of the pain opening up to someone could cause. She'd seen too much loss and destruction around her. She had built a wall around her heart ever since her mother's death and the fear of ever losing someone she loved made that wall stronger and stronger each year.<p>

"_Death isn't a game, it's not funny... When is he going to understand that? When is he going to understand how much it hurts?_"

She could hear the water running. She wasn't feeling up to talking to him, looking at him just yet. He could read her too easily and she didn't want that. She rolled around on the couch, her back to the room, hoping that this way she could avoid facing him if he stayed in the room.

She heard the bathroom door open and his light steps on the carpet. She felt him standing right behind her, probably observing her, thinking she was asleep. She felt her heartbeat increase and was grateful for the covers that hid her from him.  
>She then heard his footsteps as he walked away, turned the knob and left the room. She let out a relieved sigh and pushed down the covers, sitting up in the process. She took a moment to wake up, to breathe, and to get ready for the day to come.<br>When she felt somewhat ready she went into the closet to pick out some clothes for the day, hoping the new day wouldn't bring any more surprises. Today, she just wanted to lay low in their room, possibly alone. She needed time to herself, to regroup, to deal with her feelings and get back on track. It would all be so much easier if she didn't love him...

* * *

><p>Castle walked into the kitchen, but he wasn't feeling up to cooking anything. He headed towards the cupboards, looking for something edible for breakfast. He found a jar of cookies and grabbed it, sitting down at the table with it. He was surprised to see there was no paper announcing a new challenge. He looked around the room attentively in case he'd missed it, but found nothing.<p>

He shrugged and munched on his cookie. The door in front of him opened and Val walked in, smiling, as usual. She greeted him politely and he answered in kind, hoping she'd leave the conversation at that.  
>She didn't.<p>

"Your wife isn't with you this morning? No surprise breakfast to woo her?"

He watched her walk by, not answering, and grabbed another cookie.

"Oh, someone's in a bad mood," she commented, amused. "You guys didn't kiss and make-up last night, huh?"

Castle chose not to answer that either, preferring to occupy his mouth with a cookie. Val sat down on the chair next to him and placed her hand on his knee. The writer immediately stiffened.

"You know, Trigger, my offer still stands."

"I'm married, " he muttered under his breath.

"I know that. My condolences, by the way." She took her hand off and nodded in the direction of the bedrooms. "Especially to be married to someone like _her_."

Those words woke the writer up.

"Don't talk about her like that. You don't know her!"

"And trust me, I don't want to," she replied, unmoved by his sudden outburst.

Castle pushed his chair back and walked away wordlessly. On his way out, he crossed paths with Volcanic who gave him a bright, victorious smile, reminding him of their last encounter. Instinctively, he brought his hand to his abdomen.

"You're feeling better?" she asked.

"Great," replied the writer dryly.

"And your wife?"

"Peachy."

"You're a lousy liar, Trigger."

"So I'm told."

Not caring much for this conversation, Castle pushed the front door and stepped out, leaving Volcanic to continue her path to the kitchen. Outside, he was pleasantly surprised to see that the air was warm enough, despite the hour. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked towards the forest.  
>The writer was too absorbed in his thoughts to notice that Val was following him...<p>

* * *

><p>After a long, warm shower that was meant to soothe her, Beckett grabbed her knives and headed to the kitchen. She hoped that Castle wouldn't be there, waiting for her to discuss things, or worse, act like nothing had happened. She pushed the double doors and was relieved when she only found Volcanic, drinking a cup of coffee alone.<br>Somehow she felt a tinge of disappointment. Apparently, part of her did want to see Castle. And if she was honest with herself she'd admit that at some point or another they'd need to talk, to set things straight once and for all and get back to work.  
>In the silence of the room, she prepared her own cup of coffee and took a seat around the table.<p>

"Short night?" asked the redhead.

"You could say that," muttered Beckett.

"What do you think the purpose of last night's duel was anyway? Making us think we were really going to kill each other off..."

"I don't have the slightest idea. Maybe they just wanted to see if we could obey order blindly."

"Maybe. Although I'll admit I really don't see the point in organizing a duel-supposedly to the death-just so we can get a contract..."

A contract? Had she really heard 'a contract'? All this was so some bored, obviously rich, puppeteer could find the best contract killer?

"Oh well, at least we had some fun in that clearing," added the redhead as she finished her coffee and got up.

"If you knew the bullets were fake, why didn't you say anything?" asked Beckett.

"First of all, I couldn't be sure his bullets were fake. And secondly... Well, as I said, it was all kind of fun!"

"_Am I the only one who doesn't find this fun?_" wondered the detective with a grimace.

"You really love him, huh?" commented Volcanic upon seeing Beckett's face. She started walking away but turned back to the brunette. "You and him together? It makes sense, you know. You make a great couple," she added before disappearing behind the double doors.

Thoughtful, Beckett finished her coffee and got up as well, deciding it was time to go and find Castle... wherever he was.

* * *

><p>Castle was walking around the forest, lost in his thoughts.<br>He found a peaceful looking spot next to the river that ran through the forest and sat down on a conveniently shaped rock. He picked up a branch and started drawing random circles in the dirt. When that became boring he stared into the water, looking at the reflection of the sky in the wavelets. Thoughts and questions assaulted his mind.

"_What if she was right? What if she really doesn't need me? Maybe our partnership is coming to an end after all, maybe it's time I move on._"

When that last thought hit him, he felt a shiver run down his spine. He hung his head and looked at the piece of wood in his hands, as if hoping it would hold all the answers.

"_She said it herself... She doesn't need me in her life, period. I should never have intruded in her life like that to begin with. We can't go on like this..._"

He threw the stick into the water and slowly got up, as though he wanted to delay the moment when he'd have to face the detective.

"_All good things come to an end._"

With that bitter realization, he turned around, ready to head back to the hotel and talk to Beckett about their "partnership." But no sooner had he taken a few steps than he saw Val in the middle of the road. She seemed to be waiting for something, or someone, both hands on her hips. He cursed himself for leaving the hotel without a weapon and greeted the woman as pleasantly as he could manage.

"Trigger, I was looking for you."

Surprised by her presence and her words, he stood motionless. But as she began to walk closer to him, he decided to back away. Each step forward she took, he took one backwards, until his back met with the trunk of a tree. He stopped and stared at the blonde woman walking ever closer to him. She put both hands on his torso and leaned closer, one of her legs brushing against his.  
>He needed to get away from her, now. And he tried to, taking a step to the side.<p>

"Val... Stop that."

His words were utterly useless, however, and Val blocked his way out.

"Come on, Trigger..."

"I'm married!" he reminded her, hoping those words would be enough to stop her.

"Married, huh?"

Val leaned closer to the writer. Their chests touched and she snaked an arm behind his neck.

"I don't mind that you are, I'm not the jealous type," she continued.

He was going to say something, but instead felt Val's index finger on his lips. He put a hand on her shoulders to try to push her off but that effort turned out just as useless. In fact, the woman used the movement to her advantage and took a step closer. Her body trapping his, she slid a hand under his shirt. Castle yelped in surprise.

"Val!"

This time he put both hands on her shoulders and managed to push her off some.

"I love my wife," he declared frankly.

"I don't doubt that, Trigger. But as I said, I don't mind."

"Well, I do!"

She grabbed both his hands and moved them from her shoulders to her hips. He yanked them away instantly in surprise.

He stepped to the side of the tree; she stepped to the side with him.

Once again, she slid her hand under his shirt and stopped on the wound he had gotten from the duel. She looked up at him and smiled when she saw his face cringe.

"It still hurts, does it?" she asked innocently.

He swallowed hard.

"My wife is..."

"In the hotel. We have time."

"It's not what I meant."

Her other hand started playing with the writer's hair.

"Did you take something or what?" asked the writer incredulous.

Val stopped her movement and looked right into his eyes.

"Take something?" she repeated as she licked her lips. "You mean 'protection?'"

"What? No! God no!"

"Just relax..." she whispered into his ear.

Before he could add anything, he felt Val's lips against his own.

* * *

><p>Beckett was outside the hotel, having just walked around the whole building. She had no clue where Castle could have gone. She turned around when she felt like she was being watched only to see Scap scrutinizing her. Even as she stared at him impatiently, he didn't stop looking her up and down appreciatively.<p>

"And what are you looking at?" she asked, frustrated.

"You, Vendetta."

"Me, huh?" she repeated, not amused.

"How can a man _not_ look at you."

He walked up to her and she put a hand out to keep him at a distance.

"Stop right there! I'm married, remember?"

"Hmm, yes... Funny you should mention that," he told her thoughtfully.

"Funny? You find that funny, how?"

"It didn't seem to stop your husband from going into the forest."

"So?"

"So... I doubt he went there to collect pretty flowers for his precious wife."

"Meaning?" she asked, growing increasingly impatient with the man.

"Meaning: he didn't go alone. If you get what I mean."

"Who? Who went with him?"

"Val," he stated flatly.

"Which way did they go?"

Scap pointed to the east. She nodded – the only form of thanks she could manage with this man – and took the indicated direction.

After a few minutes of very fast walking, she heard voices in the distance. She slowed down and tip toed closer, carefully not to step on any dry branch that could give her position away.

She recognized the writer's voice, and he didn't sound like he was in any kind of danger. She was relieved, considering his past record.  
>She walked closer and pushed away a branch that was obstructing her view. That's when she saw it: the writer backed up against a tree, Val leaned against him, their lips locked in a kiss. The anger that had somewhat subsided within her came back with a vengeance. Instinctively she grabbed one of her throwing knives, ready to throw it into the blonde woman's back. The thought of using it on Castle also ran through her mind for a brief second. Although his hands weren't on the woman, he didn't seem to be pushing her away either.<p>

* * *

><p>It only took a few seconds for Castle to react and he pushed her away with both hands, firmly.<p>

"Stop that!" he ordered.

Val didn't hide her surprise. She wasn't used to being rejected.

"Can I help you with something?"

Castle's eyes left the blonde to look in the direction of the voice he knew so well. Beckett's face was dark, a mix of anger and betrayal. She held a knife in her hand, menacingly. Castle swallowed with difficulty.

Val looked over her shoulder at Vendetta, down at her knife and back at Trigger.

"Maybe I should leave you two to it then," she said calmly, winking at the writer and whispering "maybe some other time."

He frowned in response.  
>Beckett watched her leave, her fingers curling tighter around the handle of her knife, still very tempted to use it on the blonde. When she disappeared, the detective brought her attention back to the writer, anger still clear on her face.<p>

"You want to explain what you were doing?"

"We weren't doing anything!"

"You call that _nothing_? Going into the forest with this... I can't even..."

"She followed me!"

She walked closer to him, her knife still pointed in his direction.

"And I should believe you because..."

"Because it's the truth! I had gone out for a walk, to think and she..."

"To think, huh? And that little mouth to mouth helped you _think_?"

"That wasn't...It didn't...I didn't open my mouth!"

She shook her head, tired of listening to the writer, tired of their fights.

"You could have pushed her away," she suggested waving her knife in his face.

"Would you mind putting that down?"

"Don't change the subject!"

He stared apprehensively at the blade before him as he answered,

"Push her away? What did you want me to do?"

"I don't know... Something!"

"I tried!"

"You tried? Oh yeah, you definitely looked like you were struggling just then."

"What did you want me to do? Knock her out?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Castle pushed away from the tree and away from the blade, exasperated by Beckett's behavior.

"Why are you reacting like this, Kate?"

"Why am I... You're asking me why...?"

She spun around and brought a hand to her forehead to soothe her rising headache. After taking a few deep breaths she turned back to face him.

"Could you put yourself in my shoes for a second?"

Castle looked at her with sorry eyes, trying to 'put himself in her shoes' and most importantly to find the words she wanted to hear.

"Okay, I screwed up. I'm sorry."

She put her knife away, thinking he was coming to some sort of understanding of the situation.

"I'm sorry," he continued, "I know I could have blown our cover."

She opened her eyes wide.

"Our cover? Our cover? You just don't get it, do you?"

"How on earth do you expect me to understand? You don't tell me _anything_!"

Silence fell in the forest as Castle waited for an answer and Beckett was paralyzed. Paralyzed by fear. The fear that, if she ever said the words out loud, if she ever told him what she felt, it would all change, it would all be spoiled, and she'd lose him, forever.

"Kate, talk to me. Please."

She heard his soothing voice, she saw his caring eyes but she couldn't bring herself to talk.

"Is it because I made a joke out of the duel?" His voice was calmer, kinder.

Incapable of facing him any longer, she started pacing instead.

"Because if it is, I'm sorry. But as I've said, it's the only way I know to feel better."

"Feel better?" She shook her head. "You don't understand, Castle, when you react like that, it hurts."

She mechanically took a knife out and started swirling it around nervously.

"Kate?"

Silence answered him.

"I know it's a crazy reaction, but it's the one that works for me. I didn't mean to hurt you I just..."

He realized she wasn't listening to a word he was saying as she walked back and forth, swirling the knife around.

"You're digging a hole to China?" he asked jokingly. "Kate?"

The detective was lost in her thoughts and the only responses he got were little "hums" to tell him she was listening. But she wasn't.

It hurt him to see her like that. He could see she wanted to tell him something, maybe even the same thing he was dying to tell her. But neither could bring themselves to say the words. And given their current predicament, it didn't seem like the right time either.

He watched her walk a few moments more and took a deep breath.

He stepped closer to block her path. As she turned around, he put both hands around her face, forcing her to stop and look at him. He took the last remaining step and closed the distance between them. She felt his body press against hers and she relaxed against it. His soft hands brushed against her cheeks and she lost herself in his deep blue eyes. She could have pushed him away, stopped him, but she didn't want to anymore. She quickly felt his warm lips against hers and unconsciously, she responded to his kiss.

By kissing her, he had surprised himself.  
>By letting him kiss her, she had surprised herself.<p>

After a few long seconds, he broke away from her and dropped his hands to his sides. He gently pressed his forehead against hers and whispered:

"Kate... I care about you more than you could ever imagine. Don't ever doubt that."

With these words, he backed away from her and started walking towards the hotel. When she got over her surprise, Kate followed him in silence.

They both knew this kiss meant so much more than it appeared. There was something else... Something stronger, deeper, something that had been growing inside of them for years that they had always refused to admit to each other.

In a strange but comfortable silence, they walked back to the hotel.

* * *

><p>Back in their room, they found two boxes at the foot of the bed and a piece of paper accompanying them. Beckett walked past the boxes, and went straight into the bathroom and she locked herself inside. Castle watched her disappear behind the door, understanding she probably needed time alone after their moment in the forest. The thought of that kiss actually drew a smile on his face.<p>

He sat down on the bed and picked up the piece of paper: "_Tomorrow night, you shall take part in a charity ball at the New-York Plaza. You will have to blend in, unnoticed and find a man: in his fifties, gray hair, five foot nine. He will answer to 'David' and will tell you the name of your target for the final test. The boxes contain clothes for the event. Happy hunting."_

Beckett came out of the bathroom and they looked at each other a moment, smiling. Then Castle extended his hand with the piece of paper in it. She read it quickly.

"Tomorrow night... a ball... At the 'Plaza?'"

"Yeah, the 'Plaza!' Can you believe it? I can't wait to go there!"

"You mean you've never been?" she asked, visibly surprised.

"No, Kate, there are still places in this city that are unknown to me and I can't wait to discover," he replied mysteriously before getting up. "I'm gonna go grab something to eat. Want anything?"

"Sure."

She smiled and he started walking away.

"Hey, I'm gonna go out and call Ryan and Esposito to warn them we'll be back in New York tomorrow and see if they've got anything for us."

"Alright, my phone is in the nightstand drawer."

They both walked out together and while Castle turned towards the kitchen, Beckett headed outside and into the forest until she got bars on the phone.  
>Esposito picked up after the second ring.<p>

"About time you called dude, we were getting worried!" he said as a form of greeting.

"It's Beckett, Esposito."

"Oh. Hey girl, Castle okay?"

"Yeah, yeah he's fine."

"How come you didn't call us sooner."

"We've been a little busy trying to...oh, say... stay alive over here."

"You two okay?" asked the man on the phone, suddenly more worried.

"We're still alive," she answered plainly. "Listen, tomorrow, there will be a ball at the 'Plaza'..."

"The 'Plaza' huh? Very classy."

"Listen the battery's dying so..."

"We'll be there, Beckett. Oh and by the way..."

But the detective never got to hear what Esposito had to say as the phone went dead.

"Esposito? Can you hear me?"

Beckett stared at the dark screen on the phone and cursed—she had a few memories of a game of scrabble on the device and she regretted it now.

As she walked back to the hotel, she wondered what it was that Esposito was going to tell her, thinking he probably had more information about their murder victims. She could only hope he would have time to tell her more tomorrow.

When she got back to the room, she found Castle sitting on the couch. On the coffee table in front of him were two pizzas, two glasses and a bottle of wine. She smiled, grateful for the meal and sat by his side. They ate in comfortable silence.

After dinner, Beckett got changed while Castle brought their plates back to the kitchen and she left him the bathroom to change when she was done.  
>When they were done, Castle walked over to the couch and started to make his makeshift bed. Beckett turned to him.<p>

"What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving you the bed. What kind of a man would I be if I let you sleep on the couch?"

She smiled, nodded and walked to the bed.

"_And what kind of a woman would I be if I asked you to join me in bed?_" she wondered as she slipped under the covers, a smile firmly stuck on her face.


	12. The Phoenix

**A/N: Fair warning, this chapter is super long (just under 10,000 words) and the rating for this definitely turns M towards the end... Just so you know :)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>PARTY OF TWO<strong>

**CHAPTER 11: THE PHOENIX**

When Castle woke up, he felt rested. His body seemed to have recovered nicely from its various wounds but his mind was filled with questions. More specifically, he had questions regarding a pretty brunette who was still sleeping peacefully in the double bed.

He got up, and after a small detour to the bathroom, he walked over to the bed. Kate was soundly asleep judging by the way she breathed. During the night she had pushed the covers off her body, so he grabbed the sheet and pulled it back delicately over her shoulders and observed her a moment.

What was going to happen to them now? What would she think of their impromptu kiss? He hadn't really thought about what he had done, but he certainly didn't regret it. His only regret was that it had been so brief.  
>Would she ever know how much she meant to him? How much he loved her?<p>

He wanted to kiss her forehead, but he didn't, not wanting to wake her up. He grabbed a sweater, put on his shoes and silently left the room.

When he returned to the room, tray in hand, Beckett was waking up. She looked surprised when she saw the writer carrying breakfast.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm bringing you breakfast."

"In bed?"

Castle studied Beckett a moment and, realizing she didn't seem too fond of the idea he deviated toward the couch.

"No, I'm bringing you breakfast... in _room_."

Beckett simply smiled. She took her elastic band and gathered her hair in a vague bun before getting out of bed and joining Castle on the couch.

"I thought we could avoid the 'crowd' today..."

"The 'crowd', huh? Anyone in particular?" asked Beckett in a light tone that reassured the writer.

"Actually, yeah..." He paused dramatically. "Bully. He scares the living daylight out of me when he hasn't had breakfast yet."

They both smiled and ate their breakfast. A few forkfuls of eggs later, Castle asked:

"By the way, any ideas on the identity of our poisoner?"

"Well, the good thing is, the suspects pool is getting smaller by the day. I don't believe it's Bully, it's definitely not his M.O. and I think we got a pretty good look at Volcanic's specialty the other day. That leaves us with three suspects: Scap, Salvation and _Val_..."

Castle didn't miss the sound of disdain in Beckett's voice when she said that last name.

"Any favorites?"

Beckett took the time to think while she emptied her cup of coffee. Then she looked over at Castle who was waiting for her answer.

"Because I'll admit I'm seriously thinking it's Val."

"Val... Even if I would love nothing more than to see her rot in jail, she seems too... obvious. I mean... Our killer has got to know that we're not the real Trigger and Vendetta and, for a reason I still don't understand, has chosen not to rat us out. But Val, she is so interested in us... in you... It's too easy."

"Maybe so. But that woman is still poison."

"That's for sure!"

"So who are you thinking of?"

"I have a bad feeling about Scap. The way he acts, the way he looks at me, his remarks... There is something off about him but I can't put my finger on it. On the other hand there's also Salvation, the quiet, discreet man that nobody really cares about. I don't know what to make of him. One thing is for sure, if we're getting closer to the final challenge, we need to find out who our killer is, quick."

With those words, Beckett got up and went into the closet. She picked out a pair of jeans and a green shirt. She took the clothes with her and headed to the bathroom. When she got to the door of the closet, she ended up face to face with Castle who wanted to get it.  
>She looked up to him, finding herself as close to him as they had been when... <em>when we kissed<em>, she thought. She remained motionless, waiting in apprehension – and hope – for his next movement.

"I..."

"Sorry..."

She felt her cheeks grow redder and took a step to the right. Castle took one to the left at the same time and they ended up face to face again.

"Sorry..."

"I..."

Castle stepped back to let the detective walk past him, which she did, eyes set firmly on the carpet.

"I'm gonna take a shower," she explained, embarrassed.

"Good. I... hum...gonna clean up our breakfast," he replied, just as embarrassed.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Castle and Beckett had showered and changed. They had watched television, had played cards – with their clothes on – and had talked about various useless, uninteresting things. They had had lunch in their room and discussed possible suspects further.<p>

When Castle came back from the kitchen, he found Beckett sitting on the bed, sharpening one of the throwing knives. She looked serious, thoughtful... lost. She had the same look on her face as the previous day in the forest, that same knife in her hands, pointing toward him.  
>He took a deep breath to give him the courage to address the elephant in the room.<p>

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked closing the door.

She lifted her head up at the sound of his voice, as though surprised to see him there.

"Talk about what?"

"You know... about..." He sat down beside her on the bed. "Yesterday."

She stared at him, surprised, and stopped her movement. He didn't look away; instead he searched inside her green orbs for the answer to his question – the true answer, the one she would probably not have the courage to voice out loud.  
>His piercing eyes scrutinized her, making her feel uncomfortable. She got up immediately, not giving him the time to read her mind as he so often did. She wasn't ready to talk to him. She wasn't ready to talk about <em>it<em>.

She slid her knives into their pouch and slung the harness over her shoulder. She was about to walk away but she stopped, sighed, and turned around to Castle who was still looking at her.

"I'm sorry. I can't do this. Not right now."

She met his eyes, allowing him to read the unspoken request to give her time. She also wanted him to see that she wasn't against the conversation itself, she was just postponing it.  
>She then grabbed a jacket from the closet and walked out.<p>

Her steps led her outside – she needed to get some air. Eventually she ended up in the forest, this darn endless forest that surrounded them, trapped them...

As she walked among the trees, she got lost in her thoughts. Thoughts that, unsurprisingly, revolved around one man-Richard Castle.

He had kissed her. And that kiss, she remembered. Oh, she definitely had some vague, foggy memories of another kiss, and even a brief souvenir of tongues battling each other, but that kiss in the forest, that one she remembered clearly.  
>It was a simple kiss. His warm hands around her face, his wet lips over hers. Seconds that had seemed like an eternity and yet the kissed had felt so short.<p>

Why had he kissed her? Remorse because he was caught with Val? To distract her? What did it really represent to him? What did _they_ represent to him?

She knew they had to work some things out, that this case had changed their relationship and they needed to talk about it.  
>But this 'prison' was not the place for such a talk and it certainly wasn't the right time.<p>

There were too many emotions involved when it came to Castle, too many questions, doubts and weaknesses. She couldn't allow herself to lose control. Not here, not now. She had already almost lost him because of her feelings for him; she wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.  
>She couldn't deny what she felt for the writer anymore, she had crossed over that threshold when the writer's body had hit the grass. But she wasn't ready to say it out loud yet.<p>

After all, how much did she know about his feelings for her? Castle was a charmer, a ladies man... Was it just a game? Or was he serious?  
>Of course she had seen him change over the years spent with her. She had noted his various innuendos, his half disguised compliments, his sweet attentions... She had made a note of all of them and appreciated him for it. But she didn't know what to think anymore. Was it a game? Was it all part of their cover? Friendship? Or was there something more to this attitude?<p>

"_You'll never know if you don't ask, Katie_," she thought to herself.

Kate Beckett, NYPD police detective, wasn't afraid of much in life. And yet the idea of asking, of knowing, terrified her.  
>She did not want to lose him. She did not want to get hurt. She did not want to be disappointed.<p>

She felt tears coming up in her eyes and she shook her head.

"Get a grip, Kate!" she commanded herself.

She turned around, ready to go back to the hotel and put her feelings aside to finish this mission once and for all.  
>She had only walked a few steps when she saw Scap, half hidden by a tree to her right. At his feet, she could see a small fire. She hadn't been discreet at all while walking, and Scap heard her. As soon as he saw Kate, he threw something into the fire and slid something else into his pocket. She frowned and walked closer.<p>

"Hey Scap, nice little campfire you've got going."

He stopped her from getting closer by meeting her half way and blocking her path.

"Vendetta, how nice to see you. Are you heading back to the hotel?"

"Yes."

She gave a quick glance over his shoulder and saw the fire dying, leaving only ashes behind.

"Perfect. I'll walk with you then, Kate."

She stared at him, surprised, on the defensive.

"Kate?"

"That's your name, isn't it?"

"One among others, yes..."

He gave her a quizzical smile, which she didn't return.

"I like you Kate, you have a little something..."

"Vendetta."

"I'm sorry?"

"Call me Vendetta," she clarified.

He only smiled again in response and every time he did, she just wanted to knock him out.  
>They walked in silence for a little while, a silence that Kate appreciated but it didn't last very long.<p>

"So, _Vendetta_, are you enjoying your honeymoon so far? What are you celebrating again? Five years?"

"Right," she replied without much interest for the conversation.

"Wow, I admire you. Five years living with that man... That can't be easy."

She stopped. He did too. She took a step closer to him, gladly noting that she was taller than him.

"Let me be clear about something here, Scap," she started dryly, her eyes piercing him. "I can tolerate your salacious remarks about me, your inappropriate looks but don't _ever_ insult my husband again."

She shot him a look that made her meaning very clear and started walking again. Very soon, she saw Scap right by her side again. He observed her as they walked and his eyes stopped on her knives.

"So, Val says you're an expert with knives, huh?"

"And?" she snapped without turning her attention to him.

"Nothing. I just find that interesting. A woman with knives is incredibly sexy!"

Silence was her only answer. She suddenly had an uncontrollable urge to throw up and she knew exactly who to blame for it.

"What about you, Scap? Still unwilling to tell me what your specialty is?"

"You know, you seem awfully curious about our specialties..."

"I'm curious about my competition, yes. I like to know what I'm dealing with. So, how about it, Scap?"

He took a moment to think of his answer, just as they reached the hotel.

"My specialty, Vendetta, is to kill. It doesn't matter how I do it."

Kate stopped short of the door, surprised by Scap's tone. He had always seemed careless, talking with a calm, monotonous voice almost as though he was bored of the whole situation. But his last few words had come out a lot more serious and sharp. To Beckett, it was as though she was discovering the man for the first time. And she didn't like him one bit.

She looked over at him and his face immediately changed, his features relaxed and his smile reappeared. He leaned over to Beckett, whispering in her ear as though he didn't want the rest of the world to hear.

"But don't worry sweetheart... I'm sure you'll find out how soon enough."

Kate felt a shiver travel down her spine and she instinctively brought her hand closer to her knives.  
>Scap leaned back and stepped inside the hotel. As Kate wasn't following, he turned around, holding the door in one hand. He looked her up and down and smiled.<p>

"I r_eally_ look forward to seeing in you in a dress, Kate."

He let the door shut behind him and Beckett waited a few minutes before following him inside. She immediately walked to her room. She needed a shower, fast – the man's eyes on her alone made her feel dirty.

She found the door ajar and pushed it open.

"Richard?" she called, stepping inside.

She didn't find him in the room, neither on the bed nor on the couch, so she called again.

"Rick? Honey?" she added for any passerby in the corridor.

She closed the door and walked to the bathroom, irritated by his silence.

"Castle?"

But she didn't find the writer in the bathroom either, nor in the walk-in closet. Her irritation quickly changed into worry.  
>She walked to the drawers and checked each of them. All their weapons were still accounted for.<p>

"Castle, where are you?" she asked the empty room, stepping to the door, ready to go look for him.

The front door opened just as she was reaching for the handle. She pulled back in time to avoid a head collision with it.

"Where have you been?" she asked the incoming writer, not hiding the worry in her voice.

"Hey! You're back," he replied as he walked past her. "I went out for a stroll, I got bored waiting in the room."

She narrowed her eyes at him – more accurately at his back – and closed the door.  
>Kate then went over to the two boxes waiting for them at the foot of the bed and took the one with her name on it to the bathroom.<p>

Inside, she found everything that a woman going to a charity ball in New-York City could possibly need. There was a long lilac-colored dress and a pair of matching heels. Under the garment she found two smaller boxes. The first one contained a few bracelets, a silver necklace and a pair of earrings; the other had a full assortment of make-up.

"They really thought of everything..." commented Beckett, both amused and surprised.

* * *

><p>Castle came out of the closet wearing a tuxedo and polished shoes as he put on the cufflinks he had found in the box. He walked over to the mirror to tie his bowtie, a maneuver that required a few attempts.<p>

"Why couldn't they just give us the clip-on ones, huh?" he wondered aloud, frustrated by his failure.

"Need help, Castle?" asked Beckett as she came out of the bathroom.

He turned around to answer... something... that he forgot the second he laid eyes on her.

Beckett was standing there, in the middle of the room, her hands laced together in front of her. He could tell she was embarrassed by the way she looked. Castle unconsciously licked his lips as his eyes roamed over her divine body.

Kate wore a long, lilac tunic that clung to her body in all the right places and left very little to the imagination in others.

Castle's eyes followed the line of her plunging V-shaped neckline to the thin black belt laced around her waist and continued their path down her legs. He blinked several times in astonishment when he saw the slit opening on the front of her dress that started just above her knees. He left his eyes trail down the fabric, over her never-ending legs to her black open toe high heels shoes. When his eyes traveled back up, he noticed that the fabric went all the way down to her feet but was then gathered up in the back and met with the rest of the dress just above the small of her back. The dress gave the impression of having a train.

He took a few steps towards her, his eyes meeting Kate's for the first time. She was visibly embarrassed, although he could find no reason why she should be. When he was only centimeters away, he whispered, afraid he would break the magic:

"You are beautiful, Kate."

"I feel ridiculous," she replied, lowering her gaze.

He placed a finger on her chin and forced her head up.

"You have absolutely no reason to. You are simply stunning in that dress."

The shy smile she gave him was reassuring.  
>He tilted his head to the side, obviously thoughtful.<p>

"Although... There is something missing..."

She looked down at herself, suddenly worried as he reached inside one of his pockets. He pulled out a small lilac flower and took another step closer.

"I admit to taking a peek inside the boxes while you were gone," he explained as he walked around the detective. "And when I saw the color of your dress, I wanted to get you a flower to match its color," he finished while sticking the flower in the pin that held Kate's hair in a loose bun.

Kate smiled at his confession and brought a hand to her hair, checking on the flower. She then turned around to face the writer.

"Thank you, Rick."

She took hold of his bowtie and tied it for him. When she was done, she took the time to let her own eyes admire his figure.

"You look quite dashing tonight, Rick."

"Tonight?" he repeated jokingly.

She smiled and just stared at him, losing herself in his eyes. They looked at each other in silence for a moment, both mesmerized by the image in front of them.

"You really are beautiful," whispered Castle in a breath as he leaned forward and briefly pressed his lips against Kate's.

"Castle, I..."

"I'm sorry, Kate," he immediately apologized, pulling back.

But she didn't let him go very far. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him down to her, claiming his lips for a few more seconds.

To hell with her resolution.

When they broke apart, they observed each other a moment, each trying to read the other's mind. Kate smiled. So did Rick.

"I think we should get going," suggested Castle without moving an inch.

Kate brought her thumb up to Castle's lips and her smile grew wider.

"We'd better take that lipstick off of you first. I'm sorry but it's really not your color."

She wet her thumb and erased the lipstick she had left on him.

"Ready?" asked the writer when she was done.

"Not quite."

Beckett went over to the drawers and took out the case containing her throwing knives. She put her leg on the bed and Castle's jaw dropped when the fabric fell down over the side, exposing the detective's leg all the way up to her hip. Beckett felt the writer's eyes on her as she slid a pouch up to her thigh and she looked over to him.

"You like the view?"

He snapped out of his reverie and looked up at her, blushing furiously.

"I... You... I..."

Beckett smiled at his inability to speak.

"How about you hand me the knives instead of drooling all over your tux?"

"Knives? Right. Knives. Of course."

Castle shook his head and walked to the drawers to get six throwing knives for the detective. He positioned himself behind Beckett, a little to the side and handed her three knives. As she slid them in place, he did the same with the remaining others. When he was done with his task, he let his hand caress Kate's thigh. The movement had an immediate effect on the detective who bit her lip to stop herself from moaning.  
>Encouraged by her reaction, Castle got closer to Kate, pressing his torso on her back. He brought his mouth to her ear as his hand continued to explore her thigh.<p>

"Castle..." she tried to protest vainly.

"You are irresistible," he breathed hotly into her ear, bringing his other hand around her waist to rest on her abdomen.

Kate put her own hand on top of his.

"And you are impossible..." she chastised without much conviction. "We really need to go now."

Castle reluctantly pulled his hand away and Kate turned around. They exchanged loving smiles. Eventually, Castle offered his arm and Beckett snaked her own around it, amused.

* * *

><p>Castle and Beckett reached the front of the hotel in time to see Volcanic disappear inside a limousine. Her car pulled out and another one parked in front of the couple. The door opened automatically. Castle and Beckett looked at each other and walked over. The writer motioned for Kate to get in first and he followed, taking a seat on the black-leather cushion. When he closed the door, the car pulled away.<br>Kate began a thorough inspection of the interior.

"Tainted windows inside and outside... Figures."

Castle was also conducting his own inspection of the interior.

"Champagne?" he offered, taking a bottle from the mini-bar.

But the look on Beckett's face made him put it back. Instead, he found an envelope which he opened as he sat back next to the detective.

"_Follow the phoenix_," he read out loud, "and why not the white rabbit while we're at it?" he commented wryly.

Beckett turned to him.

"_Alice in Wonderland_?"

"I was thinking _Matrix_."

She nodded and took the envelope from him. Inside she found an invitation addressed to their fake name: Mr. and Mrs. Van Der Braun.

After a few minutes spent in comfortable silence, Castle shifted in his seat to be facing Beckett.

"Kate..." he started in a whisper, "You know I'm rather _famous_ in those circles... What if someone recognizes me?"

"I thought about it," she replied, her voice as low, "and it will be tricky. But we don't really have a choice here. So... Try to keep a low profile and we'll hope for the best."

Castle nodded and a few more minutes went by in silence before he spoke again.

"Kate?"

She turned towards him again, both exasperated and amused.

"Yes, Castle?"

"I'm sorry."

She lifted an eyebrow, perplexed.

"For?"

"For what I said yesterday. I shouldn't have. I was still in shock after everything but... That's no excuse. I said some hurtful things and I'm sorry."

Kate smiled tenderly and took Castle's hand in hers.

"And I'm sorry too. I wasn't exactly kind with you..."

Silence engulfed them for a moment. They both stared at their joined hands that fitted so well.

"I think we..." She let out a frustrated sigh at the sound of her strangled voice. "I think we will need to talk about this Castle, about what's happening here, you, me... us." She pressed his hand. "But not now. Not while we're investigating. It's too... complicated."

"I understand," he replied soberly. Although a few minutes later he added, "Can I still kiss you from time to time though?"

"Castle!"

"For our cover! We are married after all..."

"You are unbelievable..."

"I take that as a yes?"

She rolled her eyes and looked away, hiding the large smile that had crept on her face.

After some time, the limousine slowed down and came to a complete stop. When it did, the door opened automatically. Castle turned to Beckett.

"Maybe we should just run for it?"

"Yeah, good idea," she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "it's not like they'll be watching our every movement anyway."

"I tried."

Castle was out of the vehicle first and extended his arm to help Beckett.

As they walked to the hotel door, Beckett inspected the street and noticed a few men looming around. She knew exactly who they were but decided not to share that information with the writer.

The couple walked arm in arm inside the hotel to the Grand Ballroom where Beckett showed their invitation to security.  
>As they were about to step into the Hall however, something caught her eyes and she held Castle back.<p>

"Honey, before we go in, I'd really like to powder my nose. Would you mind?"

She smiled charmingly at the man doing security and pushed her 'husband' back with her.  
>She took them wordlessly to a corridor and when they reached the disabled bathrooms, she pulled the writer inside with her. Castle smiled as he closed the door behind them.<p>

"You know Kate, if you wanted to..." He turned around and stopped mid-sentence when he saw Ryan and Esposito standing there. "Oh, hi."

"Yo! So how's the honeymoon going? Fun? Nice dress Beckett!" commented Esposito as he took in his boss' appearance.

Beckett frowned.

"Esposito, my face is up here. And if you call getting beaten up, almost drowning and getting shot as 'fun' then yeah, it's going swell."

"Sounds like fun indeed. Glad you're enjoying it. I hope you remembered to book a room for next year."

Beckett shook her head. Those jokes were part of their life; it was their way of relaxing when things got really grim.

"Don't be jealous, next time, we'll get you two a room, too," Castle chimed in.

"Listen, you two stick around in the lobby. But for heaven's sake tell the other guys to pull back, they're way too obvious! I already spotted two in the street and three more in the lobby..."

"Sorry Beckett. We didn't know what to expect, you didn't give us much information on the phone. Speaking of which..."

On cue, Ryan pulled out a new phone from his pocket and handed it to Beckett.

"The battery's full."

Kate took the device and hid it in her small purse.

"Alright, we'd better get going. It seems this whole mascarade is coming to an end and I have a pretty good idea who our killer may be. I need you two to do some research on the other contenders... Ryan?"

The young detective took out his notepad and took down all the names Beckett gave him.

"Find anything you can on them, specifically if they're known to kill with poison."

She started leaving, Castle in tow when Esposito called her back.

"Beckett?"

She turned around and they exchanged looks that meant more than words.

"We'll be okay," she assured him before leaving the bathroom, arm in arm with Castle.

Ryan and Esposito watched them leave and stared at the door in silence for a few moments.

"There's something different about them..."

"Yeah, their clothes. Have you seen that dress?" replied Ryan.

Esposito gave him a look.

"I'm not talking about their clothes."

"I know." They stared at the door a few more seconds in silence. "One week of vacation and they come back changed." Ryan turned to Esposito. "Maybe we should try it too... Next year. What d'you think?"

Esposito looked down at his partner and shook his head. They both smiled.

"Come on, let's go."

* * *

><p>Castle and Beckett entered the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza, both equally stunned by its grandeur.<p>

"That," Castle gestured all around the room, "is worth all the pain in the world."

"Wow Rick, it's..."

"Majestic. Do you know how many times I've dreamed of coming here?"

As they both stared in amazement at the architecture and the decorations of the hall, a waiter walked past them with a tray of champagne flutes. Castle took two and presented Kate with one of them.

"Champagne?"

"Geez, it's an obsession with you!"

"We're at a gala. We have to blend in Kate... which means we _have_ to drink some champagne."

Beckett rolled her eyes but took the flute nonetheless.

"Alright, let's find our mysterious man 'in his fifties with gray hair' and let's end this."

Castle took a quick look around the room.

"Hum... Kate... The room is _filled_ with men in their fifties with gray hair."

"Look for his golden watch or a phoenix then."

"Maybe we should split up..."

"Oh no Rick! You stay right here with me, got it?"

"Well, well Kate... Afraid you'll miss me?"

She gave him a look and led him through the mass of rich New Yorkers ready to open their checkbooks for some great cause.

They walked among the crowd, looking at the men's wrists and pins, searching for their phoenix. They were very careful to avoid the people Castle knew and recognized from a distance but made an effort to blend in and return smiles and nods to the others. The couple crossed paths with Bully, who was hard to miss given his stature and Salvation who barely saw them as he struggled with his suit – attire he evidently wasn't used to wearing.

Suddenly, Castle pulled Beckett to the side and pressed her back against the closest wall.

"Rick! What on earth are you doing?"

Castle, with both hands on her hips, leaned closer to the detective and brought his mouth to her ear. She shivered automatically because of his proximity.

"The couple behind us. Biiiiig fans. Absolutely not discreet at all."

"Oh," was Beckett's only response as she wrapped her arms around Rick's waist. "_For our cover_," she mentally justified.

Castle smiled when he felt her hands on the small of his back and dropped a tender kiss just under the detective's ear.

"Castle..."

What was supposed to be a severe warning came out from her lips sounding more like a pleading moan.

She let her body enjoy the sensations his kiss provoked. She might as well accept it, when it came to Castle, she had very little control over her body.  
>What she felt when he touched her, when his lips came in contact with her skin, or simply when he was close to her was indescribable and irresistible. She needed him, all of him.<p>

When the small wave of pleasure that has coursed through her body subsidized, she gently pushed Castle back.

"They're gone now."

He furtively kissed her neck one last time before pulling away, a large grin plastered on his face. His grin only grew wider when he saw Kate's flushed cheeks and he made a point of showing her he had noticed her state of mind. Their silent dialogue continued as Beckett pinched his shoulder, he feigned hurt, she narrowed her eyes, he smiled, and she did too.

"Come on Don Juan, we have a phoenix to find."

The couple walked among the crowd for a few more minutes before Castle decided this mission was getting incredibly boring.

"Seriously, how are we supposed to find this guy?"

Beckett looked around the room, looking for something, or someone. After a moment, Castle saw a smile creep on her face.

"Easy, you do what the others do."

Castle followed her gaze and found Val chatting with another man, gray-haired, about six feet tall, a phoenix pinned to his vest.  
>Castle also smiled.<p>

"Why detective Beckett," he whispered, "I would never have pegged you for the cheating type."

The mischievous look she gave him told him that, yes, in fact, it was her type.

Taking the long route to avoid some of the people Rick knew, they managed to reach the mysterious man who was nonchalantly emptying a glass of champagne. Beckett quickly checked his wrist and saw the golden watch. This was their man.

"David?" she called, walking towards him with Castle.

The man nodded in response and held his hand out. Beckett took it and he brought her hand to his lips, under the disgusted looks of both Kate and Rick. Then he presented his hand to Castle. He took it, begrudgingly, and squeezed it a little harder than necessary.

"Nice to have met you," said the man, immediately walking away.

Beckett remained gob smacked and was about to call him back when she felt Castle's hand holding her back.

"It's okay Kate," he told her, opening his other hand to her. Inside was a keycard to room number 1205.

"Let's go."

They started walking to the exit of the Grand Ballroom when a voice called to them.

"Rick?"

They turned around in unison. When Castle recognized the man who had called him, he gave Beckett a panicked look.

"Rick Castle? You come to this party and you don't even say hi to your old friend?"

Castle was frozen to the spot with panic and it was Beckett who took his arm and pulled him with her, holding her hand out to the man in front of them.

"Mister mayor..." she greeted.

"Detective Beckett, it's a pleasure to see you again. You are particularly beautiful tonight," he replied, kissing her hand.

Kate took a step closer to the mayor and lowered her voice.

"Mister mayor..."

"Please, call me Bob."

"And please call me Kate. You see Mister... Bob, Rick and I are here undercover. I can't give you the specifics, but we need to be very discreet here."

"Oh, I see, I see, of course," he replied with a wink before turning to Castle. "Rick I hope you'll tell me all about it during golf next weekend?"

Rick only nodded in response, under Beckett's exasperated look and the mayor's amused one. When the mayor left them, Kate pulled Castle toward the exit.

"What the hell got into you?"

"I... I froze. I thought we were done for."

"So? Rule number one when going undercover Rick: improvise. Anything and everything can happen, you have to always keep control of the situation, stay in charge."

A rule she obviously applied to her own life.

"Alright boss. Got it."

They smiled and left the Grand Ballroom, heading towards the elevators. Kate spotted Ryan in the lobby and discreetly signaled for him to follow them.  
>The three of them stepped into the elevator together.<p>

"What floor?" asked Ryan as he came in behind them.

"Twelve. Thanks," replied Beckett.

The doors closed and Ryan pressed both 12 and 14.

"Nice evening?" he continued nonchalantly.

"Lovely. The Ballroom is majestic. And that _phoenix_... it's splendid!" Beckett turned to Castle. "You have our keycard, right _honey_?"

Castle, who wasn't too sure what was happening didn't answer right away.

"Rick? Honey? The keycard?" she lifted his arm up, under Ryan's amused look. "You have to forgive my husband, he is a bit... distracted," she chastised as she took the keycard from him.

"I can understand him..."

Kate gave Ryan a dirty look, silently telling him to stop mocking them if he wanted to live a long life. As she did so, she also tipped her keycard discreetly so the detective could read the number on it.

The elevator's bell rang and the doors opened to the 12th floor.

"Have a good evening."

"And you," replied Beckett as she led her 'husband' out of the elevator.

"What just happened?" asked Castle as they walked down the corridor to room 1205.

"What just happened is that now Ryan knows who they need to find and talk to at the end of this evening and he knows where we're heading so they can keep an eye on us and more importantly, so they can keep an eye on the room once we're gone."

The couple reached room 1205. Before opening it however, Beckett slid a hand under her dress, and got one of her throwing knives out, for safety.  
>She gestured for Castle to stay behind her and opened the door.<p>

It was dark and when Castle reached for the switch, she stopped him.  
>They walked inside the room, only able to see thanks to the city's lights filtering through. As they passed the bathroom, Beckett opened it slowly, checking that it was indeed empty. They moved together to the bedroom and when the detective was sure they were alone, she allowed Castle to turn on the lights.<p>

On the bed, they saw a large manila envelope. Beckett took it and opened it.

"What is it?" asked Castle as he walked over.

"Probably our target."

Beckett saw the face on the picture a few seconds before Castle reached her.

"What? We have to kill the mayor? This is crazy! We have to..."

Castle didn't have time to finish his sentence as Beckett had swirled around and pressed her mouth to his. She kissed him a few more seconds than necessary before breaking away and bringing her mouth to his ear.

"We may be under surveillance in here," she whispered.

"And here I thought you just wanted me," he whispered back charmingly, the mayor forgotten for a moment.

"_That_ will be later."

The words had come out of her mouth before she had time to think and she bit her lip, drawing away from Castle immediately, hoping that by some miracle he hadn't heard that. But the look on his face told her he did.  
>She tried to compose herself, although the heat in her cheeks and Castle's equally burning look made it difficult.<p>

"I, hum... So, yeah... The, hum... The mayor... We should..."

"Are you okay, Kate?" asked Castle, slightly amused.

She looked up to him and back down again.

"Fine. Yeah. Fine. We've got our target. Let's go."

Beckett put the photo back in the envelope and left it on the bed where they had found it before leaving the room. Once in the corridor – a place Kate had obviously considered safe to talk earlier – he voiced his concerns for his friend out loud.

"Kate? What are we gonna do about the mayor? We have to warn him."

"We can't do anything right now, Castle."

"But..."

They reached the elevator and Beckett turned to the writer.

"Don't worry about it, okay? Nothing is going to happen tonight. Tonight was just about finding out the target."

"Yeah but..."

"And I have every intention of warning Ryan and Esposito so they can take all the necessary measures to protect the mayor until all of this is over."

The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside, riding it down in silence. Back in the main hall, Beckett led them to the bathroom again. Before she got in the ladies' room, she turned to her partner.

"You stay here. You do _not_ move. I'm gonna call our friends." She started pushing the door and turned her head to Castle again. "Don't. Move," she repeated.

"_Why is she always telling me not to move_," he wondered as he went into the men's bathroom.

He walked over to the large, golden-rimmed mirrors and opened the golden tap for some cold water. He took some water into his hands to freshen up. The water felt good on his face and he even took a few sips. As he was drying his face, the door opened and he straightened up, on edge. He looked over to the door, almost expecting some kind of killer to walk in. What he discovered however was much worse.  
>One of the men he had desperately tried to avoid all night long had just walked into the bathroom – a rich, loud, annoying fan who was now walking up to him with a big smile on his face. Castle did his best to display a smile of his own and held his hand out.<p>

"Victor, it's been a while!" he greeted as they shook hands.

"Richard Castle! I'll be damned!" screamed the man, way too loud for Castle's taste. He gave a panicked look around the room. "I though you were avoiding me, ya' know?" he chastised, holding his champagne flute up, somewhat precariously.

"Avoid you? I wouldn't! Come on, you know me..."

"Whatcha doing 'round here anyway?"

"Well, pretty much what you would expect in a bathroom..."

The man burst out in laughter, patting the writer's shoulder.

"Oh Rick! Always the funny one!"

Castle smiled through gritted teeth, his eyes still traveling around the room, looking for a way out.

"Yeah... I try."

"Anyway, you and I, we need to catch up! Alright I'm gonna..." he gestured towards one of the stalls, "you know, do my thing. And then I'm not leaving your side, man."

Castle nodded and took the man's hand off his shoulder. He watched him stagger to a stall and started stepping back when the man turned his head back around.

"So, whatcha been up to anyway, Ricky?"

Castle looked at the door and at the man, wondering if he could just make a run for it.

"Oh you know, just... writing."

"Huh-huh."

Castle looked around the room for a way to get rid of the man who would blow his cover the second they'd walk out the door.

"_Rule number one: Improvise_," he heard Beckett's voice in his head. "_Let's improvise then_."

Victor finished his business and walked over to the sinks.

"You still err- follow that woman, that...cop, is it?"

"Detective," corrected Castle absentmindedly. "Listen, d'you wanna give me your tie?"

The man looked up in surprise, then at his tie and back at the writer again with a big smile.

"You wanna sign it or something?"

"Or something," replied Castle with a friendly smile and a pat on the shoulder.

The man took off his tie and gave it to Castle. He patted his suit, looking for a pen. In the meantime, Victor washed his hands and set them on the sides of the sink when he was done, his head spinning slightly. Castle immediately grabbed his hands and brought his arms back, quickly tying his wrists behind his back with the tie. His "friend" tried to protest but his drunkenness had made him thankfully weak.

Castle pushed the man back into one of the stalls and sat him down on the toilet.

"What are you d- ?"

The man didn't finish his sentence as Castle shoved his handkerchief into his mouth.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'll send someone over to take care of you, okay?"

But the man couldn't have cared less at this point as he passed out from all the alcohol he had ingested. Castle grimaced and shook his head.

"And for Christ's sake, go easy on the champagne next time!"

Castle delicately closed the stall door, looking around to make sure no one had come in. When he was satisfied, he walked back out of the bathroom.

Barely a few seconds later, Beckett came out of the ladies room, having managed to reach her colleagues and warn them about the mayor. She immediately noticed Castle's somewhat disheveled look.

"You okay, Rick?"

"Yeah. Fine. Shall we?"

She arched an eyebrow, inspecting him a few seconds. Eventually, she shrugged and grabbed the writer's arm. He led them back to the front of the hotel.

"Need a taxi, sir?" asked the clerk standing there.

"Oh thanks, but I think we..." as he started his sentence, the car he was expecting pulled up in front of them. "That's our ride. Thank you."

Castle let Beckett get inside first. Before following her, he turned back to the hotel.

"I went to The Plaza," he commented out loud with pride.

The limousine drove away from the building, back to the unknown.  
>A few seconds later, another car pulled out from its parking space and followed.<p>

Moments later in the car, Castle turned to Beckett.

"By the way, could I borrow your phone for a short moment?" he asked with a perfectly innocent smile.

* * *

><p>When they got back to their room, Beckett walked straight to the bathroom. She didn't bother closing the door and started taking off her borrowed jewelry. She undid her hair, taking the lilac flower and twirling it between her fingers with a smile. She laid it delicately on the side of the sink and took off her earrings. She stopped, however, when she felt Castle observing her.<br>He was standing at the door, leaning against its frame, smiling.

"What?" she asked, embarrassed.

"I meant what I said earlier... You truly are beautiful."

Beckett blushed.  
>He pushed away from the door and walked to her as she was unhooking her necklace.<p>

"Let me..."

He put his hands on top of hers to stop her movement and she obeyed, letting her hands fall to her sides. He unhooked the necklace and laid it beside the rest of the jewelry. He stayed behind her, his body inches from hers. He studied her reflection in the mirror. Her mouth was slightly open and she stared right back at him.

"Beautiful..." he repeated in a hot breath that tickled the hair on her neck.

He put a finger on her right shoulder and slid it down slowly along her naked back. He saw her close her eyes and bite her lower lip, and he smiled.  
>He pushed back the hair that fell on her shoulder and applied his lips to the exposed flesh. He caressed Kate's arm all the way down until their hands met and their fingers intertwined. Kate immediately squeezed his hand tighter. Encouraged by her reaction, Castle let his tongue taste the detective's shoulder, taking pleasure in discovering her body.<p>

"Cas-"

What should have been a protest died on Kate's lips when Castle's teeth nipped at her skin. She tightened her hold around his fingers and brought their hands over her abdomen.

Since he now had a hand around her body, he pulled her closer to him, their bodies glued to one another.

"Kate," she heard him whisper, "Kate, open your eyes."

She did and discovered the image of their bodies pressed together, Castle's face so close to hers. She could see the darkness in his eyes that betrayed his desire.

"Kate, I want you," he started whispering into her ear, looking her straight in the eyes. She shivered at his words. "But I don't ever want to force you," he continued, tightening his hold around her hand. "I want to touch you, caress you, kiss you..." he added, dropping feather-light kisses on her skin. "But one word," another kiss, "one, single word," and another, "and I'll stop," he concluded, pulling away slightly.

She remained silent a moment, still stunned by the boldness of the writer's words. But it only took her a few seconds to make her decision. Her detective brain was screaming for her to end this but Kate's heart, body and soul quickly took over and as a response she swirled around and pressed her mouth onto his.

"Don't let me push you away," she whispered against his lips, "I need you."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, capturing her mouth in a loving kiss. He let his tongue slide along her lips and she parted them for him.  
>Kate threaded her fingers in Castle's hair and pressed her body against his.<p>

She needed him so much. She needed the comfort of his arms, the sweetness of his kisses, the caring of his eyes. She let her body relax under his touch. They would have all the time to talk, think, dissect the situation... later. Tonight, she wanted to forget the world and lose herself in the writer's arms.

When they parted to let air back into their lungs, Kate took one of Castle's hands behind her back and led him outside the bathroom.  
>He let her lead him for a few steps, but as soon as they were back in the room, he pulled back on her arm and once again found himself pressed against her back.<p>

"I can't get enough of you," he explained, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Hum," was Kate's only reply as she reached behind her to thread her fingers into this hair.

Castle's hand slid down her thigh as far as he could reach. Beckett tilted her head back, resting it on the shoulder of the man standing right behind her – the man who warmed her heart and made her melt inside. Castle's hand found the slit of her dress and pushed under it, caressing her thigh and pulling the dress up.  
>Beckett felt her legs tremble, her heart beat faster and her breathing grow ragged. Castle's hand caressed its way back up her thigh painfully slowly and dangerously higher. She wanted to stop him, slow things down, enjoy it... But her body refused to move, words refused to come out. She was at his mercy.<br>But he stopped mid-way up her thigh, having found what he was looking for – the knives. When she felt his fingers unhook the sheath, she opened her eyes and looked down, watching him as he disarmed her, in every sense of the word.

When he had gotten rid of her weapons, she turned around in his arms, lacing her hands behind his neck and bringing his mouth to hers in a searing kiss.  
>The flame that had slowly been burning inside her for so long had turned into a wild fire that spread rapidly, destroying all her inhibitions on the way.<p>

Her hands slid over the writer's shoulders and pushed his vest off, letting it fall down in a muted thump. Her fingers then found the buttons of his shirt. Castle watched her undo them, his own hands roaming freely over her bare back.  
>When she was done, she also pushed his shirt off of him and it joined the vest on the floor.<p>

Her eyes traveled down Castle's body, one hand caressing his skin, circling around the various wounds – vestiges of their week – that marked his body.

"Does it hurt?" she asked softly, her hand on the wound inflicted by the blank bullet.

"No, Kate, I'm okay."

In truth, yes he still felt a little pain at times and their night together would undeniably make it worse, but he was ready to suffer through all the pain in the world if it meant being with her.

He kissed her lips tenderly before deviating to her jaw and down her neck.

One of his hands started pushing down the strap of her dress.

"Rick, I..."

He stopped his movement and pulled back to look her in the eyes. He saw her blushing, her eyes cast down. He thought he understood her reserve. She was close to naked under the dress, he knew it, he had noticed... One single push and the whole garment would fall to her feet, revealing her almost completely to him.

Understanding her silent request, he chose a different approach. He wrapped his arms around her body and pressed her against him.

His body's warmth and steady heartbeat reassured her. As he always did, he had read her and understood her. She circled her own hands around him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Kate, you're in control," he whispered into her hair.

Those words, those simple words, meant everything to her. He knew her, he understood her. He knew what she needed, he knew how to reassure her. And she loved him for it.

From her position, she dropped a few kisses on his naked torso, her mouth exploring freely the writer's skin. Her tongue and teeth quickly joined in the exploration, tasting, biting, and kissing his neck and shoulders with much delight.  
>Her hands weren't idle either as they latched onto his pants and worked on his buttons. When they were undone, she slid the fabric down his legs swiftly. While Castle kicked his shoes and pants off, he led them both to the bed, his clothes marking a trail across the room.<p>

When she felt the bed against her thighs, Beckett immediately spun them around and gently forced the writer down. He fell against the covers willingly.  
>She kicked off her pumps and pulled her dress up to her knees before joining him on the bed.<br>Delicately, she caressed his leg from the tip of her fingers, slowly moving back up. Her movement elicited a groan out of Castle who was watching her intently as she crept up his body.  
>Kate showered the writer's abdomen with kisses as her hand slid back up on the inside of his thigh. Castle let out another moan and threaded his fingers in Kate's hair. She continued exploring his torso with her mouth, making her way up to his face. Her hand brushed past his crotch and followed the same path as her mouth over his torso. Eventually her mouth reached Castle's and she captured it in a searing kiss that conveyed all the passion the lust and the growing frustration building inside him.<p>

The hand he had in her hair caressed her face, down her neck, over her shoulder before resting on her breast. He heard her muffled moan as he brushed against it. His other hand slid down over her leg and found the bare thigh he seemed to love so much.

"Kate..." he begged between kisses.

She kissed him again, gently biting his lower lip before pulling back slightly and locking eyes with him. She laid a hand on his cheek and stroked it gently.

"Thank you. For being here... with me."

He smiled, forgetting for a second the urgency of the burning desire that consumed him. He knew that her 'thank you' went beyond their current situation. He knew what it meant for her, what she wanted to tell him without really knowing how.

"Always, Kate," he replied, sealing his promise with a tender, loving kiss.

Beckett then pulled back and got to her feet. Before her brain could protest, she pushed down the fabric that covered her. The dress fell to her feet, leaving her almost naked.  
>Castle sat up; he was mesmerized by the image of the woman he loved before him and he held his hand out.<p>

"Come here."

She lay back down on top of him, but as soon as she was back on top, he spun them around, laying her on her back.

He traced the outline of her face with a finger before resting it on her lips. She parted them slightly, capturing his finger in her mouth. He observed her as she deliciously tortured his finger – and the rest of his body in the process – and he was fascinated by the woman he was seeing in a new light. He was sure that he loved more by the second.

She felt his desire pressed against her abdomen and she knew he wanted and needed her as much as she did. She released his finger and he trailed it along her jawline, down her neck and over her chest. She bucked under his touch. Very soon Castle's mouth joined his hand and explored and tasted her flesh. Kate's hips started moving against the writer's of their own volition and she dug her hand into his shoulders.  
>When Rick was satisfied by his explorations of her chest, he created a trail of kisses down her abdomen. She threaded her fingers into his hair, accompanying him in his quest.<p>

When she didn't feel his warmth mouth against her skin, she looked down at him. He was looking back at her with an arched eyebrow. She didn't understand his surprise until his finger laid on her hipbone, just above her underwear, where some black ink stuck out.

She bit her lip and he hooked a finger around the fabric, pulling it down slightly to reveal the detective's tattoo – a flying phoenix.

"It was a long time ago," she explained, suddenly embarrassed.

"It's beautiful," he breathed against her skin, before kissing the bird's wings. "_You_ are beautiful."

With the tip of his tongue he followed the outline of the phoenix and Kate bucked her hips against his mouth, gripping the sheets for support.

"Rick..." she called arching her back.

He smiled and crawled back up her body.

"Yes, Kate?" he asked, brushing against her lips.

"I..."

He slid his tongue on her parted lips.

"You what, Kate? Tell me."

He knew very well what she wanted. He wanted it too, badly. But he needed to hear it. He needed to be sure. He needed _her_ to be sure.

He caressed the inside of her thigh and brought her leg up, pressing his hips against hers.

"I need you," she told him, looking him straight in the eye.

That was all Castle needed to hear. He quickly got rid of their remaining garments and took a few extra seconds to fetch the wallet inside his vest and get a condom out.  
>He then lay back down on top of the one he loved, and who was waiting for him. He stroked her cheek lovingly, kissing her sweet lips tenderly.<p>

"I need you too," he whispered back.

They needed each other.

Their bodies and minds were meant for each other.

They were each other's perfect.

They were only one – one body, one mind, one love.

A love they expressed with their bodies – for lack of words – late into the night.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Now... I have a question. I will be leaving for a week on Tuesday and won't be able to update. I have two chapters ready to post except they both end on a huge cliffhanger... Would you rather I post them anyway before I go, or wait until I get back and can post the following chapters more quickly?**


	13. Until Death Do Us Part

**A/N: Alright, so here is chapter 12 and I will post chapter 13 tomorrow before leaving. After that, you'll have to wait a bit :)**

* * *

><p><strong>PARTY OF TWO<strong>

**CHAPTER 12: UNTIL DEATH DO US PART**

Kate opened her eyes and saw that the sun was already bathing their bedroom in light. The golden colors of the room reminded her of the Plaza's ballroom and she smiled, memories of the night coming back to her slowly. She grabbed the sheet at her waist and pulled it over her shoulders. Her smile grew wider when her mind registered her position – she was curled up in Castle arms.  
>She turned around in his embrace and saw that he was awake.<p>

"Sleep well?" he asked her.

She let out a contented sigh.

"Yeah. You?"

He smiled in response. She mechanically caressed his arm up and down, telling him wordlessly that she didn't regret last night and everything was okay.

They had never been so close, so at peace than at this very moment. The world had disappeared around them and for a moment they forgot about their prison and the investigation. It was just them—a man and a woman in love, enjoying each other's company without doubts, uncertainty or fear.

They each got lost in the other's eyes, Castle playing idly with Beckett's hair. Kate moved her body slightly, getting closer to the writer and resting her head on his shoulder. He brushed her cheek and pushed her hair back before kissing her forehead. She closed her eyes again, feeling completely relaxed and safe in his arms. She would probably have fallen back asleep if Castle hadn't spoken.

"Not that I'm complaining here but... Shouldn't we... You know, get up?"

"Hum... Yeah, I guess we should."

Castle gently reclaimed his arm from under her body and sat up, forcing Kate to seek out another pillow for her head.

"Is that how you wake up?" asked the writer, amused.

She groaned in response and buried her face further into the pillow.

"You ever plan on getting up?"

"Coming..." she mumbled.

Castle leaned down and kissed the detective's forehead before getting out of bed.  
>When she felt his weight off the bed, Kate turned her head and opened an eye. She watched him appreciatively as he padded, naked, across the room to the bathroom. When he disappeared behind the room, she bit her lip and smiled at the thoughts that had invaded her mind. She shook her head and adjusted her position on the pillow before closing her eyes.<p>

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, Castle came back out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. He walked over to the bed and saw Kate hugging his pillow tightly, seemingly asleep. He leaned over her, brushed her face tenderly, and kissed her bare shoulder.<p>

Castle then went over to the closet and picked out a pair of jeans and a black shirt. When he reappeared in the room, he checked on the sleeping detective one more time before leaving.

As he walked down the hallway, Castle was somewhat surprised by the unusual silence in the hotel. He had gotten used to almost always seeing someone in the hallway, or in the main hall. But this time, the rooms were empty. In the dining hall he was even more surprised when he didn't find a piece of paper giving them more information about their final challenge. That thought reminded him of the grim nature of that challenge – killing the mayor. The smile that had been on his face since he had woken up suddenly disappeared as the reality of their situation came back to him.

With thoughts of his friend Bob and hopes that the NYPD was doing a good job protecting him, he opened the fridge and set about to prepare breakfast for himself and his lover.

He was still monitoring his eggs and bacon when he heard the double doors behind him. He gave a quick glance back and saw Val come in.

"Well, good morning, Trigger!" She greeted joyfully. "I thought you would never wake up."

"Beg your pardon?"

She let out an amused laugh.

"Have you seen the time? I guess someone had a long night," she added with a wink.

"I don't think it's any of your business," he answered coldly.

"Fair enough," she conceded with a smile.

Castle turned from his pan to Val.

"And why are you so bright and cheery this morning?"

"Oh, no reason at all."

"You're not a good liar, Val."

"I'm not trying to be."

Castle observed her a moment, perplexed. Abandoning his pan, he went over to the table to sit in front of Val.

"Okay, I have a question. You say you use your charms to kill people, correct?"

Val brought her index finger to her mouth and trailed it against her smiling lips, her eyes set on the writer.

"Correct."

"Right. But what do you do when your... 'charms' don't work?"

"You mean like with you, in the forest?" she asked charmingly.

Castle grimaced at that particular memory.

"For example," he simply replied.

"Well, as I'm sure you're aware Trigger, one has to have many talents in our profession. So, on the _rare_ occasions when people don't fall for my charms, I have to resort to... other methods."

"Such as?"

"You ask a lot of questions, Trigger. Someone could find that suspicious."

"I'm just curious about your work, Val."

"Love, we all have secrets in our profession, it's part of our lives. And trust me, there are some things that are better left unknown, things that one ought to leave alone... For one's own sake..."

Val smiled at the writer and got up, leaving him puzzled and lost in his thoughts.  
>The smell of burning bacon brought him back to reality.<p>

"Oh shit!"

* * *

><p>When Kate came out of the bathroom, she found Castle sitting on the couch, in front of their breakfast. He looked thoughtful.<p>

"What's going on, Castle?" she asked, a tinge of worry in her voice.

The writer jumped when he heard her voice.

"Oh, nothing."

"Nothing?"

She sat down next to him.

"It's Val..." he confessed after a moment.

"What did she do now?"

"Well, I was making breakfast and... She came in, we chatted and... I don't know, I just have a really bad feeling about her, Kate."

Beckett took the cup of coffee and brought it to her lips.

"What did she say?"

"It's not so much _what_ she said but _how_ she said it."

"Okay, _how_ did she say it then?"

"She talked about secrets and things better left unknown. If you'd seen the spark in her eyes when she said that, you'd understand. She freaked me out."

Beckett nodded and took another sip of coffee.

"You don't believe me?"

"Of course I do, Castle, it's just... I mean, come on, Val has had a thing for you since day one and she's been teasing you the whole week."

"I know that. I do. But this was different, this wasn't about seduction."

He waited for Beckett to react but when she didn't he added:

"Kate, I really think she's our killer."

Kate shook her head as she put her coffee back down.

"Why don't you wanna trust me on this one?"

"It's got nothing to do with trust, Castle. I'm pretty sure Scap is our guy. Yesterday I saw him burn some papers in the forest. He's hiding something and I'm going to find out what that is."

She got up, ready to put an end to the investigation.

"I'm gonna go find Scap."

Castle got up as well.

"And I'm gonna go find Val."

"Oh no, you stay in the room, Castle."

"What? Why?"

"Because..."

"Because what?"

"Because I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Or because you're scared I might be right about Val."

Beckett walked over to Castle, her patience slowly fading away.

"Look Castle, as much as I loathe Val, she's just not it."

"And how can you be so sure?"

"Open your eyes Castle! She's playing with you. All she wants is to get inside your pants!"

Castle took a step back and stared at Beckett.

"And you don't trust that I can resist her?"

"Of course I..."

"No, you think I can't resist her, right? You really think I haven't changed? Is that what you think of me?"

Beckett looked away, unable to hide her jealousy and worry from him. Castle sighed and took a step closer to her.

"Kate... I would _never_ do that to you."

He stepped closer still and put a hand on her arm.

"I could never betray you like that, Kate. I hope you know that."

She looked at his hand on her arm and then looked up into his eyes. She gave him the faintest of smiles.

"I know," she whispered back.

She put a hand on his torso, pushing him gently until he sat back down on the couch.

"But I'm serious, Rick. Even if I don't think she's our poisoner, Val is lethal and I don't want you anywhere near her."

She conveyed the full force of her words with a look and turned around.

Beckett grabbed her throwing knives and slung the pouch over her shoulder, leaving the room, determined to put an end to the investigation and go back home.

Castle watched her leave, wondering what he was going to do next – listen to her or do as he pleased.  
>He looked at his watch, which indicated it was almost three. He lay down on the couch, his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. But rest wasn't coming to him and after a few minutes he got to his feet. He scanned the room for something to do and his eyes found the various pieces of clothing on the floor and he decided to do some cleaning. He picked up their clothes and took them to the closet, dropping them in a corner.<p>

Back in the room, he went over to the bed and stared at it. Realizing that he couldn't make the bed simply by staring at it, he walked over to each side and tucked the sheets neatly. Once that task was done he scanned the room again and went to the nightstand. He grabbed the phone the detectives had given them the night before and sprawled himself across the bed he had so carefully made a couple of minutes before.

Castle flipped through the menu of the phone, looking for some application that could entertain him but he soon discovered that this particular device was just a phone, with no fancy applications on it. He sighed and put it back in the nightstand drawer.

Not satisfied with his position, the writer got back up, made the bed once more and paced around the room. A few minutes later he was back on the couch, a hand behind his head, looking out the window, transfixed by the water that slid down the windows. Lulled by the sound of the rain, he fell asleep.

Castle awoke to a loud bang and he jerked awake on the couch, thinking he had heard a gunshot. He looked around the room for the source of the noise. When his eyes fell on the door, he realized it had probably been banged shut. He immediately knew who the culprit was.

"_Thank you, Beckett!_" he pestered as he got up. Then, as though realizing something he looked around the room suspiciously. "_At least I hope it was her_."

Searching the room for some clues, he found various wet footsteps on the carpet. He noticed that two particular traces were deeper than the others near the couch as though someone had been standing there a long time. He felt a shiver travel down his spine when his mind thought for a second that maybe it hadn't been Beckett.

"_I hate this place._"

Having had enough of waiting around in his room, Castle decided it was time for him to find his suspect and confront her.

He left the room and roamed around the hotel, looking for Val. Not finding her inside, the writer walked outside and headed into the forest. The rain had stopped, but when the writer looked up at the sky, he guessed it was only a momentary respite, as more menacing clouds traveled slowly toward them.

After close to an hour walking aimlessly in the woods, it occurred to the writer that his chances of finding the blonde woman in this forest were close to none. The few drops of rain he fell on his hair a few minutes later told him it was time to head back to the hotel. He looked at his watch—past seven o'clock—and at the sky. It was definitely time for him to go back. He let out a tired sigh – tired of the game, tired of this day and frustrated because he couldn't find Val.

On his way back, Castle could picture Beckett waiting for him in their room, pacing, a knife in her hand, waiting for him to come back, ready to chastise him. He hoped she had had better luck finding Scap; at least maybe she would be in a better mood.

Back at the hotel, he stepped into the room cautiously, fearing for his well-being. He was relieved and a little surprised when he didn't find the detective. Shrugging her absence off, he replaced his wet jacket for a dry one and headed to the kitchen. He hoped that with the coming storm, he would have a better chance of finding Val indoors.

And indeed, the writer was in luck. Once he pushed the double doors, he saw the blonde woman standing next to the table, an open bottle of whiskey resting on it. Val had a glass in her hand. When she heard the double doors opening, she tilted her head to the right and saw the writer come in. She smiled approvingly.

"Trigger. I'm surprised to see you here... I thought you were avoiding me."

"And here I thought you were avoiding _me,_" replied the writer.

Val's smile grew a little wider and she stared into her glass.

"Care to join me?" she asked, indicating the bottle.

Castle looked from the bottle to the woman suspiciously before relaxing.

"Sure, why not."

Castle took a seat at the table while Val got another glass out and poured him some whiskey. He smiled when he saw the label on the bottle—they were drinking a twenty-seven year old Parker's bourbon. This woman couldn't be so bad after all.

When she was done, Val presented the whole bottle to the writer.

"The whole bottle? You want to get me drunk?"

"No, silly. I saw you looking at it, I thought you'd like to have a closer look."

"How kind."

Castle took the bottle from her hands and examined it with much interest.  
>In the meantime, Val walked back over to the two glasses and, unbeknownst to Castle, she poured white powder in his glass, smiling ferociously. She took the two glasses and sat down next to Castle, offering him his glass. The writer released the precious bottle and took his glass instead with a smile.<p>

"Thank you."

"You are very welcome."

Val tipped her glass against the writer's and they both took a sip.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of having a drink with you, Trigger?"

"Nothing in particular. I just wanted to get to know you better."

"Oh really? Surprising given how much you've been avoiding me all week."

"It just... wasn't the right time."

Castle shifted in his seat, feeling suddenly ill at ease. He took another sip of his drink to help loosen him up.

"So, Val... Is that short for something?"

The blonde woman smiled.

"In fact it is. It's short for Valkyrie."

"Interesting."

"You think so?"

"Yeah... Valkyries are part of the Norse mythology, aren't they?"

"Absolutely. They guided only the bravest warriors' souls to live forever in Valhalla. In a way, they decided who lived forever and... who died."

"Kinda sounds like you see yourself as a god."

"Isn't that what we do in our line of work, Trigger? We get to decide another human's fate. We decide how..." She watched the writer take another sip of his drink. "And when..." Castle took another sip, emptying his glass for good. "Our target dies." She leaned over the table, bringing herself inches from his face. "The power that comes with deciding when someone gets to die... It's indescribable."

Castle swallowed hard, feeling slightly unnerved by her proximity and her tone.

"You know what the best part is? When your target has no idea of what's to come. When they don't know that the clock is already ticking for them and that it's only a matter of hours before death claims them..."

Val suddenly moved away and emptied her glass in one gulp.

"God, I love my job," she added with a grin.

Castle stared at the woman, at a loss for words, feeling utterly uncomfortable in her presence.

Val got up and leaned over the table.

"If you've got a minute to spare Trigger, I'd like to show you something."

"Where?" asked the writer, his voice timid.

"In my room..."

"Then you know my answer."

"I know, but I can assure you I will behave myself. This is something you're gonna want to see."

With those words, Val left the dining hall, feeling certain the writer would follow.

"_God, that woman is scary,_" thought the writer as he watched her leave. "_Well, if that wasn't a confession I don't know what is!"_

Castle got up and left the room, but not before grabbing the bottle of fine whiskey and taking it with him. He stopped by the bedroom to check whether Beckett was back or not. Since he didn't find her there, he put the bottle down and walked back out into the hallway. He stopped in front of Val's door.

"_This could either be a really good idea or a very bad one_," he thought as he knocked and pushed the door.

He was about to prove to Beckett that she was wrong and he had been right all along. He had been right about the identity of their poisoner... That thought suddenly struck something inside him and he stopped, realizing that his blood was pounding faster than usual. He brought a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he saw Val sitting on the edge of her bed. Both her hands were spread behind her on the covers and she observed the writer with attention.

"So... What did you want to show me?"

Val looked at her watch and smiled.

"Patience, you should see it any minute now."

Castle stepped inside the room, keeping his distance from the bed.

"What? You want me to watch your favorite show or something?" he tried to joke.

"Or something."

Val got up from her bed and crossed the room, smiling when Castle stepped back to avoid her. She went into the bathroom and closed the door. Castle took that opportunity to snoop around her room, looking for some sort of clue to tie her to the murders. But he didn't have time to look very far as Val came back out, new clothes on her back. She now wore a black pair of jeans, a white shirt with red patterns, a leather jacket and a pair of sneakers.

"I guess we're not watching TV then."

"You're very observant, Trigger."

"Are we going out then?"

"I am, soon."

When Castle saw the woman check her watch once again, he grew intrigued.

"Are you waiting for something... or someone?"

Val didn't answer and simply smiled at the writer.

"Can I ask you something, Trigger?" she asked softly.

"Sure," replied Castle, somewhat suspicious.

"You've been married to Vendetta for five years now, is that it?"

"Yes... Why do you ask?"

Castle felt the pounding in his head grow a little louder and he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"You haven't seen her in a while... You're not worried?"

"She can handle herself," replied the writer, hiding his growing worry.

Val chuckled and walked over to her closet.

"Let's just stop pretending, shall we?"

She came back out holding an envelope in her hands and threw it on the bed, under Castle's questioning look.

"Go ahead, open it. It's what I wanted to show you."

Castle took a step towards the bed and immediately felt dizzy. As he walked to the bed, a slight pang in his stomach worried him.  
>He took hold of the envelope and opened it. Inside, he found a thick file about him. There were photos, documents with his name and address, information about his family, details of his work with the NYPD. It was all there—his life.<p>

"You really thought you could pass as Trigger and Vendetta and no one would notice?"

"Especially you."

"Especially me," she conceded, dropping all pretenses. "I met the young couple on their flight from Amsterdam. Lovely people really, they had absolutely no idea who I was. But I did. It was the perfect opportunity to get rid of the competition before the game even began. I confess I didn't go easy on them. I didn't have time to off them properly so I gave them a good dose to make it fast..."

Val took out a revolver from the back of her pants, making Castle step back, but she didn't point it at him.

"Why... Why are you telling me this now?" asked the writer, uncomfortable.

Val smiled.

"I thought you deserved to know the truth about what happened to Andreas and Katlijn before the poison starts kicking in..."

Castle's eyes grew wider. He had refused to believe that was what was happening to him.

"You poisoned me?"

"It's nothing personal. It's just my job."

Castle looked around the room frantically for a way out, but Val and her gun stood between him and the door.

"You know, it's actually a shame that they put a contract out on the two of you. I kinda liked you. I thought it was so daring of you to take Trigger and Vendetta's place, to take part in the game, surrounded by contract killers. Even had to silence a colleague who knew exactly who you were..."

"That guy in the forest?"

"He was worthless. He wanted to kill you both from the get go but... I really wanted to see how far you would have gotten. You really did impress me, you know."

Castle's head was buzzing but he tried to focus.

"Kate. Where is she?"

"I have no idea." Val lifted her right hand when she saw the writer's look. "I swear it. She wasn't my contract. I guess she's somebody else's business. I'm betting on Bully, they kinda have a _thing_, don't you think?"

Val saw the writer close his eyes and frown, obviously fighting his growing headache.

"But the question you should really ask yourself is this..."

She stepped closer to Castle until she could whisper to him.

"What are _you_ gonna do with your last hour?"

She walked over to her chest drawer and picked up the bag she had made. Castle was frozen to the spot, his mind assaulted with questions and pain, lots of it.

"You have a headache, am I right?"

Castle didn't answer.

"Of course you do. It's all over your pretty face."

Castle brought a hand to his forehead to try to control the pain. Val smirked.

"You saw the bodies, right? You know the pain they endured? Those two, I gave them a high dose, so they probably felt the first symptoms after five minutes. Death came quick for the lovebirds. I can't say the same for you... The headache is just the beginning. The first serious symptoms of strychnine should strike any minute. Maybe they already have... you feel agitated, sore. And then there will be spasms, muscular stiffness and... let's see... pain, convulsions, respiratory arrest and, oh yes, cardiac arrest."

Val recited the symptoms with a suave voice and finished her speech with a most charming smile.

Castle did feel agitated and sore and he knew he had to get out somehow. He moved towards the door, pain jolting through his limbs as he did so. Val immediately pointed her gun at the writer.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I _will_ shoot if I have to."

Castle tried to focus on her words but his mind was already playing tricks on him. He heard footsteps, although neither of them was walking. The sound of water dripping in a sink, a branch rattling the window...  
>Once again, he brought a hand to his eyes, covering them in pain.<p>

"You know what I love about this poison?"

Castle tried to move again, but after two steps, his legs gave out under him and he fell down on his knees. Val walked to him and crouched to his side, whispering into his ear.

"There is no relief possible. Death is your only relief... You see it come for you, you fear it and yet soon enough, you'll wish it would come faster."

Val put a hand on the writer forehead and caressed him lovingly.

"Your body is already giving out... Soon the pain will be so intense you'll wish for just one thing..." She kissed his cheek. "Ending it."

Castle tried to fight back by elbowing the blonde in the ribs. That move earned him a punch in the guts, right where the bullet had hit him a few days before.

"Don't be stupid!" she chastised firmly.

Val got back on her feet and went over to her drawers. She picked out another revolver and emptied its cylinder completely before putting one single bullet back.

"Tell you what... Because I like you, I'm going to grant you a favor..."

She put the weapon down on the nightstand.

"With any luck you'll go into cardiac arrest before the pain becomes unbearable. But if that's not the case, you could always shoot yourself."

She laughed as Castle looked up at her in pain and anguish.

"Such a shame that it didn't work out between us... We could have had a good time."

Castle closed his eyes and tried to block her voice out, focusing on his pain instead.

"Well, would love to stay and chat but the doors are gonna close soon and I've got somewhere else I need to be."

She slung her bag over her shoulder and gave the writer one last victorious smile.

"Ta-ta, love."

* * *

><p>Castle knew he had to find the strength to get out of the room before lock down if he didn't want to get stuck there until the morning. Particularly given his current state. In a way, the writer found himself wishing he had received a larger dose of the poison; maybe then he would already be unconscious, or dead. Either way, he wouldn't be feeling this horrendous pain.<p>

Castle looked at the gun on the nightstand.

He chastised himself for even thinking about using it. How could he think such a thing? How could he give up so easily?

Pushing back the pain, he grabbed the bed sheets and pulled himself up. He was standing on his two feet. He looked at door. If only he could already be there, outside this cursed room. His thoughts were of Kate. He knew she, too, had a killer after her. What if she needed him right now? He clenched his teeth and breathed faster and harder. To his surprise, he felt slightly better, enough at least to try and walk.  
>Using the bed as a walking stick, he took a couple of steps, but each one sent jolts of unbearable pain throughout his body.<p>

Sweating, agonizing, Castle got closer to the door still, so close he could almost reach for its handle. So close...

Spasms suddenly hit his limbs and his body tensed before collapsing on the carpet.

Castle tried to muffle his cry of pain in his hand, closing his eyes, biting his lip.  
>He regretted so much in this instant – drinking that whiskey, not listening to Beckett, investigating on his own and just being his usual reckless self. He should have stayed by Kate's side. He should be with her, not here, alone, in this room, waiting for the end to come.<p>

After a moment, the pain subsidized – or he was able withstand it better. He rolled over and ended up on his stomach. Using the last of his strength, he pushed up on his arms and clenched the bed, pulling himself onto it. He didn't have the strength or the will to move anymore. Val's words reverberated in his mind: _respiratory arrest... respiratory... arrest... just... breathe..._

Castle did just that, trying to calm down his breathing, trying to remain calm. But he knew it was only a matter of time before he'd lose control entirely. When his thoughts weren't focused on the pain, they turned to Beckett. He hated not knowing where she was, if she was alright.

The more time went by, the more he felt the end come nearer. He whispered the detective's name several times, trying to conjure up her image in his mind, hoping against hope that she would appear before him, that he would see her one last time.  
>Castle rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling. A brief, imperceptible smile appeared on his face when his mind traveled back to the night before. Memories of her, of them, floated in his mind and almost made him forget the pain... Almost.<p>

He turned his head and saw the gun waiting for him. Pain. There was so much of it.  
>Castle curled into a ball, holding his knees to his chest, closing his eyes, willing the pain away. He rocked his body several minutes but the pain remained.<br>He opened his eyes and looked over at the gun. He slowly, hesitantly reached out and grabbed the weapon. He examined it and for a moment, he thought he felt his body relax. But it didn't and the aching increased ten-fold.

Val was right. He had to decide how it would end. Soon, he wouldn't be able to move.

He brought the gun in front of him.  
><em>One last thought for his mother, Martha...<em>

He put the barrel over his temple.  
><em>One last thought for his daughter, Alexis...<em>

He snaked his finger over the trigger.  
><em>One last thought for his love, Kate...<em>

He closed his eyes.

"Forgive me," he whispered, hoping his voice would echo to the ears of the people he loved.

A second later, a loud bang pierced through the silence of the room.


	14. Sharp Edges

**A/N : Okay, so here is chapter 13 before I go away for a bit.  
><strong>

**It's funny how people are so worried about Castle they completely forget about Beckett...  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>PARTY OF TWO<br>**

**CHAPTER 13: SHARP EDGES**

When Beckett closed the door behind her, she stopped in the hallway and leaned against it. She let out a tired sigh. Castle was one stubborn man!  
>She slung the knife pouch over her shoulder and looked down the hallway. It was empty. So she turned to the right and strode towards Scap's room.<p>

When she reached his door, she saw it had been left open. She knocked and called his name. Receiving no answer, she walked in, careful to stay on the look out for him. She quickly inspected the room, making sure he really was gone. When she was satisfied that he was, Beckett started searching his room.  
>In the closet she found a suitcase and a large variety of clothes to choose from, but nothing relevant to her investigation. The bathroom was equally uninteresting. A thorough search of the bedroom and its various drawers didn't reveal much either, save for a blatant addiction to nicotine – an addiction the organizers seemed more than willing to feed. In the drawers where she should have found weapons she only found empty cases.<p>

Disappointed by these results, Kate walked back to the front door she had left slightly ajar. No sooner had she stepped out than she came face to face with Bully. She jumped.

"Bully! You scared me."

The man studied her a moment.

"You're looking for something, Vendetta?" he asked as he looked over her shoulder into Scap's room.

"Yes—Scap ," she replied trying to get around the man. "I was looking for Scap, his door was open but, well, obviously he wasn't in his room."

Bully stared at her intently as she slowly walked away from him.

"You wouldn't happen to know where he is?"

The man simply shook his head as a response. She gave him a tense smile before turning around and walking away.

She ended up in the dining hall where she found Volcanic sitting at the table, cleaning one of her weapons. When the young woman saw Beckett she acknowledged her with a nod and got back to her task.

"_Getting ready__, I suppose,_" thought Kate as she moved on.

She continued to search the hotel and her path led her to the gymnasium where, this time, she found Salvation doing pull-ups on a bar.  
>He saw Beckett and smirked. The more she saw that man, the less she liked him.<p>

Kate walked back to the lobby and as she stepped out of the hotel, she crossed paths with Bully again. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

"You waiting for someone, Bully?"

The man looked at her, smiled, and looked away to the horizon.  
>Beckett raised an eyebrow and shrugged before continuing off into the forest.<p>

"By the way," he called back, "I saw Scap earlier. He went north, if you're still looking for him," he told her with a knowing smile.

She nodded and turned north.

As she walked through the never-ending forest she would end up knowing by heart, her thoughts turned to Castle and the night they had spent together. She had promised herself she wouldn't do anything during the course of their investigation and yet she had completely let herself go the night before.

But even as she tried to chastise herself for it, she just couldn't. She was happy with Castle. _He_ made her happy. They had been playing their little game for so long, it was almost inevitable that they'd come together in the end. Of course, she had never imagined that they would come together under such odd circumstances.  
>This would probably be her only regret – if she actually had any – that their first night together had been in a prison hotel. Nonetheless, the night had been quite memorable.<br>A smile crept over her face at the memory.

But her smile soon disappeared when she looked around and realized where she was—at the exact same spot where she had almost drowned a few days before.

She studied the surrounding area and was not even surprised to see that any trace of their accident had been erased. The car fragments that should have been there were gone and, as she scrutinized the depth of the lake where the Dodge Challenger should have been, she realized it was gone as well. The only traces of the accident were a couple of scratches left on the tree trunk.  
>She lay her hand on the lines and felt a pang in her heart – the memories of that day coming back to her, painfully.<br>But today, she realized, it wasn't the fear of dying that scared her. It was the fear of losing Castle.

At some point between the time when having him around was a bore and last night, she had stepped over a line beyond which the mere thought of losing Rick made her sick to her stomach.

Her fingers traced the two lines and she prayed that Castle would never abandon her.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard heavy footsteps behind her.  
>She turned around and saw Bully a few feet away from her. Instinctively, her hand found the handle of one of her knives.<p>

"You're taking a stroll, Bully?"

"No, I was following you," he replied honestly.

Good, she thought, she would rather not play games anymore.

"And why's that?"

"I wanted to check something."

He took a step forward and she took one back.

"You didn't find Scap?"

"No. Check what, Bully?"

He continued walking towards her, she continued backing away, her hand firmly gripping the handle of her knife.

"If I was right."

"About?"

"You. Trigger. Your secret."

One more step back and she felt a tree trunk behind her. She unsheathed her knife and hid it in the palm of her hand.

"Our secret?"

"Don't play coy with me, Kate..."

He took a couple of more steps until he was only a meter away from the detective. Seeing him so close reminded Beckett of the blatant difference in size between them. She remembered the pain she felt when they had fought and she winced.

"I studied you and your _husband_ carefully during the week... And I have to say, for a married couple, you two are very strange. You don't hold hands, you don't kiss, you're never close, except when one of you is potentially about to die..."

Beckett pushed herself off the tree, readying herself for the upcoming fight.

"Even though I appreciate your remarks I don't see how..."

"You don't wear a ring, Vendetta," he interrupted.

She mechanically looked at her hand although she knew she didn't.

"So?" she asked, stepping to the side. Bully followed her movement.

"Give it up, Vendetta. I'm not falling for your lie anymore. I know your little secret..."

Bully leaned over Kate and she readied herself to push the man away if he touched her.

"Trigger and you..."

He looked her straight in the eyes and she held his look, trying to hide her discomfort and apprehension.

"...You're divorced."

She had no answer to that one. She stared at him, stunned.

"But, because your reputation is built on your partnership," he continued, "you wanted us to believe you were still the team that terrorizes all of Europe."

"I..."

"What I don't understand is why you bother staying with that man. I'm sure you'd do fine on your own, Vendetta."

The sincere, warm smile he gave her stunned her ever more.

"I like you, Kate. Any woman who fights like you do and gets up from a fight like ours deserves some respect. But I really can't say the same for your worthless ex-husband."

That remark shook her out of her stupor. She straightened and stared back at Bully with cold eyes.

"Listen carefully, Bully. First of all, that secret you discovered, you keep it to yourself, all right? Secondly and more importantly, do not talk about my husband...ex... like that, ever again. We may be divorced but you're still talking about the man I love... loved and I have tremendous respect for. So you can keep your disdainful remarks to yourself. Got it?"

Bully smiled, somewhat amused and impressed by this woman who looked so delicate and small compared to him and yet exuded such strength and confidence all the time.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied tilting his head.

Over the course of their conversation, neither one of them had noticed the clouds gathering over their heads. The rain that started to fall down on them surprised them both.

"Can I walk you back to the hotel?"

Beckett looked at Bully, then at the forest, the dark sky and her tank top. Then she looked back at Bully.  
>She would rather have continued her search for Scap, but the weather was turning nasty and a storm was sure to come.<br>Bully was smiling at her, a sincere, heartfelt smile that contrasted heavily with his imposing body. Maybe she shouldn't have trusted him... But he seemed so sincere.

"Sure, why not."

The odd pair reached the hotel completely soaked by the rain that had intensified on their way back.

"You know, if you ever decide to let go of your ex once and for all and need a new partner, Vendetta, let me know," said Bully with a wink before leaving her.

Beckett shook her head and walked back to her room. She was surprised when she didn't see Castle sprawled on the bed, playing with their phone or watching TV. At first she thought the writer had disobeyed her and had gone out, but when she turned her head, she saw him. He was on the couch, asleep.

She walked up to him and observed him. Castle was lying on his side, a hand tucked under his head and the other dangling on the side.  
>She instantly forgot that she was supposed to be mad at him for something. Seeing him so peaceful warmed her heart. That man, so tall and strong, who had proven his worth more than once since their first meeting could also be so tender and innocent. And innocent was the key word here. As much an asset as the writer could be, she couldn't help but think that he didn't belong here, in this prison, surrounded by assassins.<br>The tension of the last few days was beginning to grow amongst the participants. People were on edge, restless, dangerous. This was no place for a civilian like Castle.

Castle emitted a small sound in his sleep and she smiled. Leaning forward, she dropped a feather-light kiss on his forehead.

Beckett then walked over to the closet, her wet clothes feeling sticky and uncomfortable. Despite the rain, the weather outside was hot and humid so she opted for another cream-colored tank top and traded her pair of jeans for a pair of brown baggy pants.

As Kate hung her wet clothes out to dry, she noticed the pile of dirty clothes Castle had dropped in a corner. She shook her head disapprovingly but with a smile on her face. Kneeling down, she picked her evening gown up. Memories of Castle's hands over her body came back to her and her smile grew wider.  
>Beckett decided to pick up the whole pile of dirty clothes, the testimonies of their adventure – with bloodstains, dirt, mud, dampness and various tears – and put them in one of the empty suitcases. She closed it and set it in a corner.<br>Satisfied with her "cleaning" she went back into the bedroom and stopped by the couch. Her partner was still soundly asleep.

Beckett then went over to the weapons drawer. She readjusted her throwing knives around her shoulder and grabbed a combat knife that she placed around her ankle. As she tucked another knife in her belt, she turned around, suddenly aware of the ringing silence. She had gotten used to the sound of the rain pounding on the ground. The silence now seemed unusual. The air was still heavy and the ground soaked but the rain had stopped. When she looked out the window however the color of the sky told her it would rain again, and soon. Therefore she went back into the closet and took a zipped hoodie that she tied around her hips.

She stopped one more time in front of the couch and smiled lovingly at Castle. One day, she would really need to tell him how much she loved him.

With that thought in mind, she left the room, wincing when the door inadvertently slammed closed behind her.

* * *

><p>Beckett went back down to the entrance hall, determined to find Scap.<p>

She didn't have to look very far. No sooner had she pushed the doors to the outside than she saw him disappear between the trees.  
>She immediately followed him inside the forest but very quickly lost sight of him. Still, she ventured through the trees, listening for any indication of his position, looking around for a trace of his passage. From time to time, she could hear the sound of twigs being stepped on and she followed that trail.<p>

As she walked deeper into the forest, she heard thunder in the distance immediately followed by lightning that lit up the darkening sky. A storm was coming.

After a good half hour of tailing Scap, Beckett ended up losing his trail completely. Annoyed, she stopped and listened attentively for any sign of him.  
>Looking around, she recognized the place where she had seen him burn a piece of paper the day before. Wiping off some of the sweat that pearled on her face, she knelt down and inspected the pile of ashes. As expected, there was nothing left to see.<p>

Another loud clap of thunder made her jump. The storm had come a lot faster than she had thought.

It was time for her to head back to the hotel before the downpour started. In fact she didn't have to wait long for the first drops to fall on her.  
>Kate took the sweater from around her hips and was about to put it on when a knife whistled through the air and found lodging in the tree trunk behind her.<br>She immediately let go of her sweater and grabbed a throwing knife. Focusing her attention on the point of origin of the knife, she saw a silhouette a few meters away and threw her knife. It missed, and her assailant disappeared between the trees. Unsheathing a second knife, she ran in pursuit.

What had started as a drizzle soon turned into the downpour she had been expecting. The visibility in the forest was getting bad. A flash of lighting lit up the sky and she saw that silhouette again. He didn't seem to be running. On the contrary, he seemed to be provoking her.  
>She responded by throwing her second knife into the air. Again, she completely missed her target. Knife throwing might have been her alter ego's specialty, but it certainly wasn't Beckett's, especially not under heavy rain.<br>A few seconds later she threw a third knife at the moving silhouette and missed.

"Having trouble throwing, Vendetta?"

Despite all the noise around them, she immediately recognized the voice taunting her.

A second after she heard his voice, a knife grazed her left arm. She simultaneously threw her own knife but, unsurprisingly, missed.

"Or should I say..." Kate turned around when she heard his voice behind her. "Detective Beckett."

She was met with a right fist in her jaw.

The blow pushed her back and, stunned, she wasn't able to block the second punch she received to the face. The third try wasn't so lucky and she blocked her assailant's arm before retaliating with a series of her own punches. Even if she didn't touch him, at least it made him back away.

The thunder roared above them. The rain fell mercilessly – soaking their hair, their clothes and the ground in equal measures.

"So you know who I am," she stated as she got rid of her throwing knives – they were useless to her anyway.

"I know a lot about you, detective," replied Scap as he took out a long double-edged knife from his belt.

Without further ado, Scap threw himself at Beckett who blocked his attacks one after the other. When she got the opportunity, she blocked his arm in the air. But as soon as she grabbed his arm, his left fist came in contact with her face. He then kneed her in the stomach, making her release her grip around his arm. That mistake cost her a nasty cut on her palm when Scap's blade escaped her hold.  
>She clenched her teeth at the pain it caused and took out her own knife, one that earned her alter ego her nickname – a Vendetta.<br>Scap sniggered at the sight of the weapon.

"Do you even know how to use that, detective? I wouldn't want you to cut yourself..."

With that, he charged. Both took shots at the other with their respective knives and missed. Their blows alternated to the rhythm of the pounding rain and the roaring thunder. The ground was getting slippery.  
>The blood that dripped from Kate's arm was already mixing with the blood from her hand.<br>Beckett eventually managed to disarm her opponent, but soon enough, so did he.

"Tell me something, Scap. Why did you let this go as far as it did?" she asked as he took another mean looking knife out from behind his back.

He lurched forward, not bothering to answer her question.  
>She avoided him, cursing the wet ground that made her clumsy in her movements. Scap took advantage of her swaying to hit her soundly in the face with the butt of his knife. The blow was effective, making Beckett dizzy and promising to leave a nasty mark in the morning. Scap continued with the firm intention of hitting her face with the blade this time. But Beckett blocked the blow in the only way that seemed less painful at the time – lifting her right arm up. The knife's blade slashed her forearm and made her cry out in pain.<br>Animated by pain and anger, she responded with a series of blows that partially reached their target.  
>When Scap tried another attack, she blocked him. She grabbed his wrist with both hands and with one firm blow she knocked the knife out of reach.<p>

Obviously unhappy, Scap kneed her in the ribs. She responded by sending her elbow crashing into his jaw.

They both backed away, staggering.

Glad for this moment of respite, Beckett pressed on her bleeding forearm, but the pain that shot through her made her regret the movement.

"So, Scap," she started, trying to earn more time to rest, "if you knew who we were, why not attack us sooner?"

"Sooner?"

They both took steps to the side, turning around each other under the rain, both happy to rest a moment. They were dripping wet, but that was the least of their worries.

"You had to know we weren't the real Trigger and Vendetta if you killed them."

"Killed them? Honey, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Beckett frowned. Scap, visibly rested, threw himself at her.

They exchanged a series of blows, some reaching their target, others not.  
>When Scap kicked her in the solar plexus, the slippery ground made her lose her balance and she fell on her back with a painful groan. She immediately got up, but Scap grabbed her by the hair and picked her up brutally. Blocking one of her arms, he spun Kate around and sent her crashing, head first, against a tree.<p>

Beckett felt the contents of her empty stomach come up to her throat. Her vision was blurry and her legs were trembling.  
>Scap came up behind her and put an arm around her throat, holding her tight, blocking her airwaves.<p>

"Why... are you... doing this?" she asked between breaths.

"I'm a killer. It's what I do. They give me a name..." He took a pocketknife out and Beckett shivered at the contact of the metal over her cheek. "I obey."

She tried to break free. She could feel her lungs emptying and the knife digging deeper into her cheek. She could taste the blood that dripped from the gash on her forehead. Panic was taking over, clouding her thoughts, her judgment, and her reflexes.

A deafening clap of thunder brought Beckett back to her senses.

She took as deep a breath as she could, then dug her heel soundly into Scap's foot and her elbow into his ribs. Even though it wasn't enough to free her, it loosened the grip the man had on her.  
>Raising her leg, she grabbed the knife at her ankle and unceremoniously stabbed her opponent's torso with it.<p>

Scap let out a wail of pain and released her completely. Beckett, not missing a beat, spun around and repeatedly hit the man's face with the butt of her knife, until a trickle of blood appeared on his cheek. She followed with a kick to the flank and another to the head, sending him to the ground.

"Game's over Scap. Why do you want to kill us? Who ordered you to kill us?"

She stepped closer to the fallen man, brandishing her knife, screaming to be heard over the storm.

"Did you or did you not kill the real Trigger and Vendetta?"

Scap looked up to her.

"Kill? I thought you had arrested them to take their place."

Beckett frowned again.

"So you didn't kill them?"

"No, love. I only received the order to kill _you_ yesterday, along with a file about your real identity."

"And Castle?"

"Who?"

"Castle, the man I'm with. You have to kill him too?"

"Don't know him. He's probably somebody else's business."

A dreadful feeling washed over Beckett. A bad hunch that made her suddenly sick. She could not have explained why or how but she now knew, in her guts that Castle was in danger.

She studied Scap a moment. He was still on the ground, holding his injured side, looking weak and almost harmless.  
>A flash of lightning streaked the sky, revealing the cut she had opened on his cheek. She turned to the general direction of the hotel and felt an uncontrollable urge to run to it.<p>

"Don't be stupid and give up, Scap. I'm not interested in you," she warned before turning around, ready to run to her lover.

But she had barely taken a few steps when she felt a sharp pain in her left calf.

"I never give up on a contract," said Scap as he got up on his feet.

Kate looked down at her leg and saw her torn pants and the large cut that his blade had opened on her calf.  
>She winced. But, ignoring the soreness and her bleeding injuries, she drew renewed strength from her anger, her concern and her love and threw herself at the man who was holding yet another knife.<p>

At least now, she had a pretty good idea what his specialty was.

They exchanged a series of useless blows.  
>They were both exhausted by their respective injuries and the fight was a strain on both their bodies.<p>

When Scap's left fist tried to make contact with her face, she grabbed his arm, pushed it back and, with the butt of her knife hit him on the wound she had inflicted to his flank. He let out another cry that was muffled by thunder and retorted with a punch to her face.

They backed away, studied each other, and breathed.

Beckett had one thing on her mind—putting an end to this fight and running back to Castle. All the more so as she slowly bled out from her multiple injuries.

Scap was the first one to charge again with his knife but she sidestepped to the left.  
>Kate grabbed his arm with her left hand and his wrist with her right, using her impulsion to lift his arm up. She pushed her elbow under his arm and pulled down on it, using her height to lift him up the ground slightly and tear his muscles. He groaned. With surprise on her side, she pulled harder on his arm and the man's body was forced to follow the movement. Holding tight, she made him spin around and sent his back crashing against a tree. Scap fell down on the ground, unconscious. His hand let go of his knife.<p>

She knelt by his side, grabbed his knife and checked that he was indeed knocked out.

Satisfied that he wouldn't follow her any time soon, she could now run back to the hotel—but not in her current state.

Turning back on her tracks, she tried to locate her abandoned sweater. The pain in her leg was excruciating with each step she took.

She eventually found her sweater and tore it into pieces. She bandaged her calf best she could and did the same with the gash on her forearm, deciding they were the two most pressing injuries. She simply rolled another piece of sweater around her bleeding hand and, fighting against the sharp pain in her leg, she ran back to the hotel.

The storm was starting to fade away, and the rain had turned into a drizzle.

Kate stopped and leaned against a tree. The pain was getting to be too much. She looked down at her leg—her most worrying injury. As expected, the fabric was already soaked in blood.

Her head started spinning and she closed her eyes, holding on to the tree for support.  
>Her thoughts converged to one thing, one man—Castle.<br>She couldn't lose him.  
>She needed to know he was okay; she needed to be by his side.<br>She opened her eyes and ran.

Her cream colored top was soaked and was turning somewhat reddish from all the blood that had spilled moments before.  
>Sometimes, she could taste the blood mixed with sweat that trickled down from her forehead. She was a mess, but she didn't care.<p>

The thought of Castle haunted her.

What if her hunch was right? What if he truly was in danger?  
>Then again, Scap didn't seem to know who Castle was... Maybe as a cop, she was the only target?<br>And what about the others? Did they know who she was too? Was she running back to a hotel full of assassins hired to kill her?  
>Never mind that. She had to find Castle. She would worry about the rest later.<br>Castle.  
>And what if <em>he<em> was right? What if Val really was their killer after all? Could it be that she had let her feelings, her jealousy cloud her judgment?

The hotel appeared in the distance. She took out her knife, alert, and slowed down to a jog until she reached the building.

She entered the hotel and was glad to see it was empty. Immediately, painfully, she climbed the stairs up to their room. The door was ajar. She tightened her grip around the knife and stepped in.

"Castle?" she called, not caring about their identities anymore.

The game was clearly over.

She didn't see the writer. However she did see the bottle of whiskey on top of the coffee table. She took it and sniffed it. Although she didn't smell anything suspicious, the fact that the bottle had already been drank and had nothing to do in their room gave her cause to worry.

"Castle?" she called again, her voice desperate.

Her concern turned into full-fledged anguish. The fear of losing him, her pain, and exhaustion came back to the surface and turned into tears that threatened to spill. Kate shook her head. This wasn't the time to rest, or cry.

She limped back into the hallway and searched the common areas, calling out her lover's name.

Then that bad feeling came back and she turned around.  
>She started running, bursting through the double doors, running past Bully's room, running past their room, running...<p>

A loud bang came from the door she was heading towards.

She stopped, horrified, in front of Val's room.


	15. Our Dark Hour

**A/N: As promised, I'm back, so here is chapter 14. I hope you guys survived this week without knowing what happened after the gunshot ;) And thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews, you guys are awesome.**

**And as always, _wingsss_ thank you for your great work correcting this.  
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**Also on a personal note I'd like to say to AkaBlackNight that I absolutely love this chapter of hers although it was an absolute pain to translate xD (ze t'aime)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>PARTY OF TWO<br>**

**CHAPTER 14 : OUR DARKEST HOUR**

Her heat skipped a beat. There was no shaking the feeling that was eating at her right now.

Brandishing the bloody knife in front of her, Beckett carefully pushed down the door handle. If she had only one wish, it was that Castle had simply gone out for a walk and that gunshot had nothing to do with him.

She took a deep breath and opened the door. She carefully stepped in, scanning the room for any danger. She wiped some blood off her forehead as it dripped towards her eye.

Her heart skipped another beat when she saw the inert body lying on the bed. Still on the lookout for a sneak attack, she got closer to the bed. She thought she saw him tremble, but maybe her mind was playing tricks on her.  
>She took another step and stopped. Her heart sank low.<p>

"Castle?"

His name had come out in a strangled voice.

Kate limped around the bed. His body was shaking – she hadn't imagined it. As she walked up to him, she stumbled on an object on the floor. She looked down and saw the gun lying there. Unconsciously, she looked up at the opposite wall and saw the bullet hole. She turned her attention back to the writer.

Castle's position surprised her – he was huddled into a ball, his legs bent to his torso, his arms crossed over his chest, holding tightly to the rim of his shirt, as though trying to hold on to something. His eyes were closed and his forehead was creased, indicating obvious pain and suffering. She could hear him breathe in rapid, short intakes of air.  
>Kate took another step and lay her hand on his forehead. He opened his eyes and she almost jumped in surprise.<p>

The first thing he noticed was that she was injured. There was blood all over her face, her clothes, and her hands. She was wet, dirty and shivering. But she was alive. That's all he wanted to know. That's all he needed to know before...

"Kate," he painfully called in a breath.

"Castle, I'm here."

She sat on the edge of the bed, ignoring the pain that shot through her body with each movement she made.

"What... happened?" he asked in a whisper.

She could have asked him the same question. She just wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

"It was Scap, he tried to... Never mind. He's not our guy."

She took Castle's hand in hers and held it tight. She could feel his tremors.

"What happened to you, Rick?"

"I should have listened to you, Kate... I'm sorry."

She watched him silently, waiting for more. She was too scared to ask, too scared to hear his answer.

"Kate... Val... She... She's... It's her."

"How can you be sure?" she asked, trying desperately to ignore the truth in front of her.

He didn't answer, but his eyes told her a truth she couldn't ignore anymore. This was happening.

"No, Castle...No..."

"I'm sorry, Kate... I should have... listened..."

She put her hand on his cheek and stroked it gently, trying to hide her own shaking.

"Kate, I should have... stayed in the room... Should have listened... I just wanted... I was sure..."

"Shh."

Her mind flashed back to the hotel room in New York and to the two bodies lying there, their faces contorted in pain. She could not begin to imagine the pain Castle was enduring.

"I'm so sorry, Rick. I should have stayed by your side... I'm so sorry," she repeated with a quivering voice.

A tear fell down on the bed. She was too tired to hold it back. Castle brought a trembling hand to her cheeks and wiped away another tear.

"It's not... your fault, Kate."

If only she could believe him. If only she could forgive herself for leaving him alone in the hotel. Her job, her _duty_, as a cop, as a friend and a lover was to protect him, shield him from any harm. She had failed. She had abandoned him.

She hung her head in shame and caught sight of the gun on the floor again. Her mind suddenly put the pieces together.

"Castle? The gun?"

"I wanted to do it, Kate. I really... wanted to..."

She could probably never understand why, for a brief moment, he had contemplated the idea of ending his misery with a bullet in his head.

The pain was so strong, never-ending, increasing in intensity. He had wanted to put an end to his suffering. For a brief moment he had thought there was no other way.

He would probably never be able to explain why he had changed his mind, why he had fired the only bullet that could have brought him relief into the wall. Maybe it was the thought of never seeing Kate that had made him turn the gun away at the last minute. Or maybe it was a reflex.

His only certainty now was that he would have to deal with the pain until the very end.

Maybe he should have used that gun.

* * *

><p>Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly felt Kate's hands over his legs, pulling them to the edge of the bed. Then she put her hands on his shoulders, trying to lift him up.<p>

"We have to get out of here, Rick."

"Kate..."

He tried best he could to help her, pushing on his elbow to lift himself up. Kate put an arm behind his back and helped him into a sitting position. His legs fell to the side of the bed, like dead weight and he let them.  
>He was now sitting upright, aided by Kate's hands on his shoulders.<p>

"Come on, Rick. I need your help with this. I can't lift you up on my own."

He shook his head in protest.

"Don't even think I'm going to leave you behind! Come on!"

She took his right arm and placed it over her own shoulder, holding it tight around her. Her other arm snaked around his back. Together, they managed to get the writer on his feet. They groaned in unison at the pain the movement caused both their weak bodies.

A few steps and Castle was near the wall. He was already exhausted by that effort, so he leaned against it, his legs weakening by the minute.

"Kate," he called her weakly.

"Come on, Castle!"

"Kate... I can't..."

She refused to listen to him. She refused to give up.

"No, come on!"

He brought his two hands to Kate's shoulder, putting all his weight on the wall now. He captured her eyes in his and looked at her intently. That look sent shivers down Beckett's spine.

"Kate..."

He took a few breaths, his strength abandoning him slowly. Kate put both her hands on his and tried to pull him up to continue their trek to the door.

"Listen... Kate."

"Cas-"

"You have to..."

"No! Out of the question!" she cut him, knowing exactly what he would tell her.

She took her arm again and put it around her shoulder. She held him tightly, hoping he would help her, but he didn't. His body refused to move from the wall.

"The phone... in our room."

"Castle, no!"

He tilted his head back against the wall, his rate of breathing growing more alarming with each word he uttered. He tried to gather all of his remaining strength to talk to her, to tell her to leave. He didn't want her to watch him die. He didn't want her to keep that memory of him. And the only excuse he could think of was the phone.  
>He briefly closed his eyes before opening them again and look straight into hers.<p>

"Kate, listen..."

"I don't want to hear it, Rick!" she cut him again, looking away.

"Kate..."

He moved his hand up to her cheeks, forcing her to look back at him.

"Castle, we need to..."

"I'm already dead, Kate!" he interrupted.

His words stabbed her in the heart. Her eyes wide open, her lips slightly parted, she breathed a faint "no."

"You... refuse to... see it, Kate."

His hands, weak, fell down from her face and to his sides.

"But we both... know it. It's over."

Kate shook her head at each of his words, refusing to listen, refusing to believe.

Castle's body finally gave out and he let himself slide down against the wall. Beckett immediately knelt at his side, tears flowing freely down her bloody cheeks.

"You can't give up now," she pleaded.

"Kate..."

"No! No, you can't give up! You hear me? You can't! You have got to fight this! For Alexis, your mother... for me!"

She took his hand and held it tight, bringing it to her heart. She could feel his body shaking and tried to imagine the pain he was in.

"The phone... Kate, call them."

She was about to protest but he brought a finger to her lips, muting her.

"Kate, please... For once... Listening to me," he begged her.

As much as she chose to ignore it, he knew that there was no coming back from this. There was no cure. The only relief he would get, as Val had reminded him, would be death. He was scared, but he was ready for it, he had accepted it.

Beckett put one hand over his cheek, and stroked it tenderly. She winced for him when she felt him tremble under her touch.

"You have to promise me that you'll hold on," she told him with a new determination in her voice.

She put a finger under his chin and lifted his head up, forcing him to look at her. His eyes were half closed; pain was visible on the features of his face.

"Promise me, Castle."

He wanted to promise, but what was the point? He simply nodded, to give her the reassurance she needed.

Kate put both her hands on his cheeks and held his head up. She leaned over to him and brushed her lips over his.

"I love you," she whispered against his dry lips.

She kissed him again, silently begging him one more time to fight for her, for his family.  
>Despite the smile he tried to muster, she could read the hurt, the sadness and hopelessness on his face.<p>

Kate pressed her forehead against his.

"I love you," she repeated.

She couldn't face this again. She couldn't lose someone so close again. She knew she couldn't stand it, not after her mother's death. She wouldn't be able to deal with that same guilt – guilt over not being there for him, of not telling him everything that he meant to her, all the time.

He watched her get up. She winced as her body reminded her that she, too, was in a poor state of health.

She walked towards the door.  
>He watched her walk away.<p>

Without turning back, she left the room.  
>He watched her disappear.<p>

Once in the hallway she felt the urge to go right back into the room and never leave his side again. But she chose to listen to him, for once, and went into their room instead. She grabbed their phone and headed back out. She ran down the stairs, body aching, and ran out of the hotel.

She was far enough now – far enough not to hear the clinging of the doors that locked shut one by one.

Castle almost smiled at the thought that she wouldn't see him die.

He let his body fall to the side and, face to the ground, he started crawling on the floor. Slowly, he crawled away from the door and back to the bed.

But he never made it to the bed. Halfway through, he felt a sharp pain shoot through all of his limbs. He rolled to the side and curled into a ball.

He let out a desperate cry.

* * *

><p>Beckett ran as fast as her wounded body would allow her. Her eyes darted from the ground to the screen of the telephone, waiting for that one bar to appear.<p>

When it did, she stopped, leaned against a tree to support her weak body, and pressed one.

She cursed against each ring on the other side of the line and wiped the tears of frustration that were incessantly rolling down her face.

"Yo! Beckett! I'm glad you called," told her the voice on the other side, "we know who your killer is."

"Esposito..."

"It's Valkyrie, otherwise known as Val. She is an expert poisoner, and particularly likes strychnine. She's wanted by Europol for at least a dozen murders but..."

Esposito stopped mid-sentence, surprised by the sounds he was hearing. At first he thought there was interference on the line... He would have preferred that.

"Beckett, what's wrong?"

"It's Castle... She poisoned him."

"What?"

"He... I wasn't... Scap he... He was trying to kill me and... I wasn't there, Esposito. And Castle... Oh god..."

She looked over to the hotel, where she had left him, alone, again.

"Esposito..."

"We're on our way Beckett. We followed you last night. We're coming back with the cavalry. Hang tight."

She hung up and took a deep breath to push back her various pains. She steeled herself for the run back to the hotel.  
>She hadn't noticed the silhouette following her, waiting for the right moment to act.<p>

She reached the hotel a few minutes later, and slowed down, limping. She wasn't sure how much longer her own body would hold. But she would strain it to the very end.

She limped back up the stairs and to Val's door. But when she pushed it, nothing happened.

She tried again, but the door didn't budge. In between desperate "no's" she kicked and pushed the door frantically, to no avail.

Deciding on a new strategy, she took a few steps back. She was about to launch herself shoulder first against the door when she saw Bully appear at the end of the corridor. He was carrying a shotgun over his shoulder and walking towards her.  
>Reflexively, she took her knife to defend herself, although it would obviously prove useless against a shotgun.<br>Bully saw her knife and stopped.

"Don't come any closer, Bully!" she warned angrily.

Bully lifted his arm up to show he had no intention of harming her.

"Wow, calm down, Vendetta."

He noticed the detective's appearance – her various red bandages, the blood that trailed down her limbs, her dirty clothes and messy hair. She was a wreck.

"What happened to you?" he asked in a worried tone that contrasted with the killer he was supposed to be.

She didn't have time to answer as Volcanic appeared in the hallway, revolver in hand, pointing it at Beckett. The latter pointed her knife towards Volcanic. Bully looked from one to the other.

"Wow, girls, what's going on here?"

"Vendetta killed Scap!"

Bully looked over at Beckett.

"He tried to kill me!"

"Why would he do that?" asked the redhead.

"There was a contract on my head."

"And why was there a contract on your head?"

"Does it matter? Come on, you're not stupid, you know the guys behind all this do stuff without reason!"

"No, no, they had a reason... Scap told me things."

"'Things'? What 'things'?"

"You're an impostor."

Bully, who was looking from one woman to the other, stopped on Beckett.

"And here I thought I knew your biggest secret," he commented, slightly disappointed.

Volcanic took a few steps forward.

"Put your weapon down, Volcanic."

Bully's voice and his order surprised both Beckett and Volcanic.

"Out of the question, Bully. She killed Scap."

"So? Scap tried to kill her, too. He lost. Fair's fair. Now put down your weapon."

"Or if you really want to shoot someone, go shoot Val," added Beckett.

"Why Val? She didn't kill Scap!"

"No, but she did kill both Trigger and Vendetta. We're here for her, nothing more."

"You're a cop?" asked the redhead, incredulous.

"Listen," continued Beckett as calmly as she could, "the cops are gonna be here any minute. I don't care about you, your job...I don't. So why don't you just lower your weapon and get out of here before they get here?"

Bully looked over at Volcanic, meaningfully playing with his shotgun.

"Do as she says, Volcanic. This is ridiculous. If you really wanted to shoot Vendetta – or whatever her name is – you would have already. Let's just get the hell out of here."

Volcanic gave both Beckett and Bully a look before putting her weapon away. Seconds later, she had vanished through the double doors.  
>Beckett looked over at Bully. He was still standing there, looking at her. She really did not get this man, at all. Since he didn't try to kill her, she focused her attention on the most pressing matter – Val's door.<br>She was about to charge once again when she heard the sound of a gun being loaded. She turned around and saw Bully not far behind her, pointing his shotgun at her. Her eyes grew wider and she froze.

"Move," ordered Bully on a strangely kind tone.

She did, keeping her eyes firmly on the weapon.

"The organizers should have invested in armored doors."

The man fired three shots into the lock and smashed it into pieces.

"It's stupid to put such a sophisticated locking system on wooden doors."

Stunned, Beckett turned to him.

"Why are you doing this, Bully? I mean, helping me."

"Look, I don't really care who you are. Cop or no cop, you're a decent woman. Now if what you say is true and Val really did kill Trigger and Vendetta, in my books, she's the one who deserves to die."

Beckett nodded.

"Thank you," she told him as he walked out the double doors, shotgun over his shoulder.

As soon as he disappeared, she burst through the door, hoping to god the writer was still alive.

She found Castle lying on the floor, curled into a ball. His back was to her and she immediately limped over to his side. She saw him shake and let out the breath she was holding.  
>She sat by his side, certain she wouldn't be able to move anymore... She didn't want to. She lay a hand on the writer's shoulder. He opened his eyes only slightly.<p>

"Castle," she called in a whisper.

If he saw or heard her, he didn't show it. He was motionless, except for his tremors, his eyes completely void of any emotion but pain and exhaustion. She waved a hand in front of his eyes but he didn't react.

Beckett put her back against the bed and stretched out her legs. Lifting the writer up, she put his head on her lap and stroked his hair soothingly.  
>There was nothing she could do now but wait and hope that her team would get there in time. She felt so powerless; she hated it. All she could do was watch the man she loved agonize to death.<p>

"I'm so sorry, Rick."

She hoped he could hear her – hear how sorry she was, for everything.

She stroked his hair and she waited. She wanted to believe that if rescue came soon, they would be able to save him. She had to believe.

She was tired, the exhaustion of the last hour was taking over her, making her dizzy, making her sleepy. She closed her eyes, the sound of the rain gliding over the windows lulling her. Her heartbeat slowed down to a constant rhythm, her breathing calmed, her body relaxed...

A loud clap of thunder shook the room.

She opened her eyes and looked at the man on her lap. He hadn't moved, his eyes were still closed, his breathing short and quiet. The only sign that he was in fact still alive were his spasms.

She was letting herself drift away again when the writer started to move. She immediately understood this was another side effect of the poison – he was convulsing. She knew there was nothing she could do to help him, except make sure he didn't hurt himself.  
>He rolled to the side and she got her legs out of the way, making sure there were no objects around that could injure him. His body shook violently and she looked away. Her eyes found the door and she stared at it, willing it to open with paramedics behind it.<p>

After a few seconds that seemed an eternity, his convulsions ceased and his muscles relaxed. She tentatively crawled to his side again and gently turned him around. She was relieved that his convulsions had stopped. But her relief didn't last long. When she turned him around, she realized he was _too_ calm.

"Castle?"

She took his hand into hers.

"Castle? Can you hear? Castle! Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."

He didn't.

"Castle..."

She titled the writer's head back and lifted his chin. She put her ear to his mouth and listened. She heard nothing. His chest was flat, motionless.

"No, no," she kept repeating.

She breathed air into his lungs, twice.

She checked his pulse. It was there. It was weak, but it was there. He was still hanging on.

But without immediate medical care, it was only a matter of minutes before he'd let go for good. And she knew it...

* * *

><p>The quiet and peaceful forest was suddenly disturbed by the sound of sirens in the distance. In a loud and colorful convoy, several police cars sped through the forest, followed by an ambulance and a SWAT van.<p>

They reached the hotel in a heartbeat and the SWAT team got out and into position. The police officers joined them, while the medics stayed behind with a couple of officers to protect them.  
>Ryan and Esposito, both wearing their vests and loaded M4s led the assault into the hotel.<p>

"Beckett?"

Her name echoed throughout the building. They stopped when one of them thought he had heard a response from upstairs. The team climbed the stairs with weapons at the ready. They entered the upstairs hallway. They cleared the various rooms one by one until they reached one that had clearly been shot at with a large caliber. When they entered, they found Beckett, frantically pumping air into the writer's lungs.

Ryan immediately called in the EMTs and a few seconds later they were by the writer's side.

Kate sat down on her heels, leaving space for the medics to do their job. She remained motionless, her vision completely blurred by tears. She observed them as they took care of the writer, intubated him, and gave him oxygen.

Esposito walked to her side and laid a hand on her shoulder. He had immediately noticed his boss' appearance and more specifically the pool of blood under one of her legs.

"Beckett?"

In shock, she didn't respond. She had been strong most of her life, but right now, she had giving up all pretenses. Right now, she needed to cry.

She watched as the medics put Castle on a stretcher, bustled about, injecting him with all sorts of medication. Eventually they lifted him up and took him out of the room. She stared blankly at the empty doorway.  
>One of the medics walked up to her and offered to clean her wounds. She pushed him away and started to get up. Esposito immediately came to her rescue. Together with the paramedic, Esposito helped her up and followed the stretcher to the front of the hotel.<p>

Beckett climbed in with Castle.  
>The vehicle sped off, sirens blazing.<br>Ryan and Esposito got into their car and followed, leaving behind the cursed hotel...


	16. Game Over

**A/N: We're nearing the end of this story - as you can imagine - and I have that feeling again, like when we finished it in French that... I don't want it to hey, still got two more chapters so... here goes chapter 15.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>PARTY OF TWO<br>**

**CHAPTER 15 : GAME OVER**

_Beckett was running through the forest. She was running for her life, speeding between the trees. How long had she been running? The forest seemed to go on forever – trees after trees that seemed to grow around her, surrounding her, trapping her. She couldn't see the sky __or the horizon, only trees. And there was that voice, haunting her. A voice she'd recognize anywhere. Her name echoed through the forest – a desperate cry for help._

_"Beckett."_

_He called her over and over again. She ran. She ran in every direction possible but she could never find him.  
>And then she heard them – the clicking of doors being shut. An incessant clicking, so loud it made the ground tremble.<br>She closed her eyes, trying to block away the oppressive sound. She heard a shot. She opened her eyes. She was in a dark hallway, standing in front of an unusually white door. "Val" was written on it.  
>She heard her name, a whisper.<br>Leaking from under the door, she saw a pool of blood that spread down the hallway, surrounding her.  
>She started pounding on the door, leaving red marks with her bleeding hands on the pristine white door.<em>

_"Castle!" she cried out._

_She felt a hand on her shoulder._

Beckett woke with a start.  
>It took a moment for her foggy brain to figure out where she was. But when she saw the man lying on his hospital bed, unconscious, and the young redhead with a hand on her shoulder behind her, she remembered.<p>

"Alexis, what are you...?"

"Did you spend the night here?"

"I, err-"

Alexis didn't need to hear the detective's answer to know that she had indeed spent the night by her father's side. Kate's hand was tightly laced with Castle's and her face had the marks of the sheet her head was resting on.

Beckett sat up straight in her seat and the movement immediately woke various pains all over her stiff body.

"How is he?" asked Alexis as she walked to her seat on the other side of the bed.

"He's..." Beckett cleared the hoarseness from her throat before continuing, "he's stable. Nothing happened over night."

"And you?"

"I..."

Beckett looked down at her body. Her calf was neatly bandaged, as were her two arms and her hand. She also had a bandage over her forehead to complete the set. Her body was extremely sore. She had stuff to reduce the pain in the room that she was given, but she had left it long ago to stay by the writer's side.

"I'm okay, Alexis," she lied, looking at her watch. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?"

Alexis turned red in shame.

"Yes but... Well, with dad in the hospital, I really wanted to see him before class and... well... I had to skip first period..." she confessed, hanging her head low.

Kate couldn't help but smile a little at the teenager's behavior.

"I think, given the circumstances, your dad would understand if you missed an hour or even a day of school."

Silence settled in the room.

Beckett noticed for the first time that her hand was holding Castle's. She blushed, certain that his daughter had seen the gesture and she let him go, embarrassed.

The silence in the room was disturbed only by the rhythmic rise and fall of the machines keeping the writer alive.  
>The more Beckett's mind started to wake up, the more she remembered everything that had happened over the last week. And the scared young girl sitting right in front of her, looking at her dad with worried eyes only further increased her sentiment of guilt. She had put Castle in this bed. She had put a father, a son and a friend in danger.<p>

"Do you think he's going to make it, Kate?"

The sound of Alexis's weak voice tore her out of her thoughts.  
>She looked up at the girl, then at Castle. If he hadn't been on a hospital bed and hooked up to machines, he would have looked like he was peacefully asleep.<p>

It had been over ten hours since the paramedics had made it to the hotel.  
>Ten hours that he lived only thanks to the machines.<br>Ten hours that she was by his side, refusing to stay on her hospital bed like she had been ordered to – although she had been forced to sleep for a couple of hours upon arrival because of the drugs they had given her.  
>Ten hours spent worrying over whether he would make it or not.<br>The doctors seemed optimistic, but she dared not hope. The fear of losing him was too much to overcome. And as long as she didn't see his eyes open, she didn't hear his voice, she couldn't believe he would be okay.

So, she lied.

"Your father is a strong man, Alexis. And stubborn as he is, I know that if he decided to live, he'll live. I'm sure he's going to be okay."

If only she could convince herself of that...

* * *

><p>Beckett wrapped her hands around the warm cup of brown liquid. The smell of coffee immediately reminded her of the man she had left behind, alone, unconscious, on his hospital bed. She pushed down the sadness that suddenly invaded her and walked to her desk. There was no room for these feelings if she wanted to save another life – the Mayor's.<br>She had only agreed to leave Castle's bedside on the condition that she could work on protecting the Mayor and arresting Val, thus refusing the leave the Captain had offered.

Even if the game was over, she knew it wasn't over for everyone. Salvation had been arrested at the hotel. Scap was dead. Bully and Volcanic had disappeared into thin air and were probably far away from New York City by now. But Beckett had an inkling that Val would not give up so easily and would want to finish the game she had started – namely, kill the Mayor, their final challenge.

"Anything new on Val?" she asked as she joined her two colleagues.

"Nothing so far. She hasn't turned up in any airport, bus, or train station anywhere in the state," replied Ryan.

"Which seems to corroborate your theory that she's staying in New York," continued Esposito.

"And that she wants to finish the game," concluded Kate.

Beckett looked at the Mayor's timetable for the following days.

"You guys reinforced his security?"

"Since the night of the Gala," replied Esposito.

"Have you shown Val's portrait around?"

"To his security and collaborators," answered Ryan.

"And you warned them to pay particular attention to..."

"... food and beverages," interrupted Esposito.

Beckett looked at her two colleagues and gave them a sorry smile.

"You mean to tell me you two have been doing your jobs while I was away?"

The two male detectives smiled back at her.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, hanging her head.

"Don't be, Beckett, we understand."

Ryan nodded.

Beckett looked at the Mayor's schedule again and examined it a moment. Then, she pointed to the next day's column.

"What do we know about tomorrow's event?"

Ryan looked at a file he had.

"Press conference and review on New York's crime rate at ten at the Grand Hotel, then lunch with the Attorney General."

"Good. I want a detailed map of the floors as well as..." she suppressed a yawn and took a small sip of her coffee, "and reinforce his security at the hotel, I want..." She yawned again.

Her colleagues looked at each other in unison.

"You should go home Beckett," advised Esposito. "How long has it been since you got a good night's sleep?"

"I'm okay."

"We'll ca1l you the second something new comes up," promised Ryan, "until then, go home."

She looked at the two men in front of her; two men that supported her and would always support her.

"You're probably right. I'll see you at the Grand Hotel tomorrow."

They nodded in agreement and she grabbed her jacket.

"I'm gonna head to the hospital to get some..."

"Go home, Beckett."

The captain's voice surprised all three detectives.

"I'm sure if there was any change they would have called you immediately. Go home. Get some rest. It's an order," he added more severely.

"You're right. Okay... I'm gonna go home and rest," Kate conceded with a sigh.

She grabbed her bag and walked towards the elevator under the three men's watchful eyes.  
>Ryan looked from the cup of coffee she had barely touched to his boss who disappeared behind the elevator's doors.<p>

"She's going straight to the hospital, isn't she?"

"Absolutely," confirmed Esposito as the captain nodded.

* * *

><p>Esposito's radio came to life. The officer on the other end informed all security personnel that a man had been arrested in the kitchen as he approached the Mayor's meal cart.<p>

"Ryan, Esposito, you two go check it out," ordered Beckett without taking her eyes off the crowd in the conference room.

The two men nodded and left her. She attentively scrutinized the people listening to the Mayor's speech. But there was no sign of the lethal blonde woman she was looking for. She looked around the room, taking in the number of agents stationed around the room.  
>Val's profile indicated that she was the kind of woman who liked to act alone and discreetly. An attempt against the Mayor's life in such a public setting seemed out of place. It would be... too easy.<p>

Following an instinct, Beckett left the conference room and headed towards the elevators.

When the doors opened on the second floor, she took one step out of the elevator and immediately saw the blonde woman coming out a room. Both women looked at each other and Val smiled. Then she started into a run down the hallway.

"Val! Stop!" shouted Beckett vainly as she started in pursuit.

She groaned at the pain her run was causing on her leg – reminding her she was supposed to be convalescing.  
>When she reached the Mayor's room, she quickly pushed the door open. Continuing her run behind Val, she grabbed her radio.<p>

"Suspect in sight. In pursuit. Send a medic team to room 2117. Two men down."

Clenching her teeth against the pain in her leg, Beckett followed Val into the staircase.

"Val! Stop!" she repeated hopelessly.

She heard a door open and saw the woman disappear behind it.

"Suspect in the lobby," she radioed as she pushed the door.

She followed Val as she ran towards the revolving doors of the hotel. She saw the officers standing in the street, ready to block the woman's path.

"Give it up Val, you're surrounded," she informed her as they both slowed down their run.

Val stopped in front of the doors. She seemed to be studying her options for a short moment. Beckett took the opportunity to catch her breath, all the while stepping closer to Val, her hand on the butt of her gun.

"It's over, Val."

But the woman suddenly spun around, holding a gun of her own and pointing it at the detective.

"Gun! Everybody down!" ordered Beckett as she drew her weapon.

The other officers in the hall and outside also drew their weapons. But Val and Beckett were only a few meters away from each other and Val's weapon was clearly aimed at Beckett head. One pull of the trigger would send both Kate and herself to the grave.

Very much aware of their dangerous proximity, Beckett straightened her shoulders and adjusted her aim on Val.

"Drop you weapon, Val. It's over."

The blonde woman quickly glanced around the room at the officers pointing their guns at her and smiled.

"Maybe so... But I do like the idea of taking down the second half of your dynamic duo in my fall..."

Beckett gritted her teeth at the mention of the man who was lying on his hospital bed fighting for his life. Her finger pressed closer to the trigger.  
>She saw Ryan and Esposito take position by her side.<p>

"How is dear Castle, by the way?" asked Val with a grin.

She adjusted her gun to Beckett's forehead and pressed her finger.

"He's alive."

Beckett barely had time to read the surprise on Val's face when a gunshot rang through the air.

She saw the other police officers fall to the ground. Reflexively, she did the same.  
>She scanned the room frantically, brandishing her weapon and crawled to Val's side. The woman was lying dead on the luxurious carpet of the Grand Hotel.<p>

"Who was it?" she asked, turning to Esposito who already had his radio in hand.

"I'm checking."

Beckett saw the hole in the window and followed its presumed trajectory to the building across the street.

"Who's on that roof?"

"No one."

She turned to Esposito.

"What do you mean, 'no one?'"

"It wasn't one of our guys, Beckett."

She looked at the building again, perplexed and then back at Val who was slowly losing her blood on the beige carpet.

"You two go..."

"On it," interrupted Ryan as he and his partner headed towards the building.

Beckett remained in the hall, her arms falling down her body, weapon in hand. Around her, people got up, officers and paramedics got busy.  
>She was still in shock. When she had heard the gunshot... She had really thought it was the end. She thought that bullet was meant for her.<p>

"You're hurt."

A voice brought her back to reality and she noticed the medic by her side.

"Excuse me?"

"Your leg... You're hurt."

Beckett looked down at her leg and saw the red stain on her beige pair of pants. She sighed and then she winced, her brain finally receiving the message of pain coming from her leg.

* * *

><p>Beckett reached Castle's door just as Martha arrived from the other side holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a hot chocolate in the other.<p>

"I'm sorry, if I had known you were coming I would have brought you a coffee, too."

Beckett smiled in response and opened the door for her. Inside, they found Alexis who immediately got up when she saw the two women. Without warning, she pressed herself in Kate's arms. Surprised at first, Kate quickly relaxed and put her arms around the young girl in response. Her eyes then found the man lying behind her.

"Hey, Alexis. How is your father?"

Alexis unglued herself from the detective and took a cup from her grandmother before sitting back down in her chair.  
>Beckett didn't miss the look the two women exchanged.<p>

"What's going on?"

"The doctors say it's nothing," started Alexis.

"That we shouldn't worry," added Martha.

"Alright, well... I _am_ worried!" She turned to the grandmother. "Martha, please... What's going on?"

"It seems..." She gave a quick glance over to the redhead who was finding comfort in her hot chocolate. "It seems Rick had a heart attack this afternoon."

"What?"

Beckett instantly spun around to the writer, as though checking that he was still there and alive.

"He's okay now, he's stable. The doctors assured us he's going to be fine."

"Of course they did, it's what they always do!" snapped Beckett.

When she saw the surprised, and somewhat sad, look on Martha's face, she corrected herself.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have... He's okay now, that's all that matters."

Kate took a few tentative steps towards Castle's bed. She observed him as his chest rose and fell to the rhythm of the machines.

"You love him, don't you?"

Beckett's cheeks turned red in response to Martha's unexpected question. Panic clearly showed on her face.  
>She had faced many things in her life, but the inquisitive look of a mother who only wanted to see her son happy terrified her.<p>

She felt so guilty. She was the one who had led him into this adventure. She was the one who hadn't protected him from harm. She felt certain Mrs. Rodgers held her responsible for her son's condition... with reason.

Panicked, her eyes darted from Martha, to Alexis and to Castle, searching for the right answer.

But when her eyes fell on Castle and she felt her heart beat to the same rhythm as the man she loved, she gave the only answer possible – the truth.

"Yes, I love him."

If she could have crawled under the bed and hid under there, she would have. But the tender and caring looks both Alexis and her grandmother gave her reassured her as much as surprised her.

"He loves you too, Kate, you know," said Alexis.

"Evidently," confirmed Martha.

Kate smiled to both of them and dared to take Castle's hand into her own.

"I know. I see it every day."

* * *

><p><em>Beckett was running down the stairs. She couldn't see the end of them. She could hear the sniggers of the woman she was chasing bouncing off the walls of the staircase in a deafening echo.<br>She was sweating, exhausted, panting. Eventually they reached the bottom of the stairs and she followed the blonde woman behind the door.  
>They ended up in a large hall, completely covered in gold. It was deserted. Valkyrie was facing her, pointing a gun at her. She didn't have time to draw<em>_ before a shot was fired.  
>She felt a burn in her heart. She looked down and saw the blood pooling around her bare feet. But it wasn't her blood.<br>She turned around and saw Castle lying on the burgundy carpet. She fell down on her knees by his side and her white pants turned red instantly. She took his hand and brought it to her face. _

"_Castle! Castle stay with me!"_

_Her heart ached and her breathing was painful. Her tears fell one by one into the blood that surrounded them. _

"_Castle, please!"_

_The pain that traveled through her body increased as the light in his eyes slowly went out._

"_Please..." she begged between sobs, "I need you... I'm so sorry... Don't leave me."_

_She lied down next to his lifeless body, feeling her own life escape her. She didn't care anymore. _

"_Don't leave me..." she whispered with her last breath. _

_And then, she felt his hand press hers. _

Beckett woke up with a start again, and realized she was at her usual place, beside Castle's bed.

She looked at their joined hands, hoping to see the gesture that had torn her out of her nightmare. But, realizing it was all a dream, she sighed.

"Castle..."

She leaned over him and caressed his face with her other hand tenderly.  
>She felt his hand press hers again and her face lit up.<p>

"Castle? Can you hear me?"

He moved his fingertips against her skin. He opened his eyes briefly before closing them again; satisfied to see that the voice he was hearing belonged to the woman he loved.

He could go back to sleep now.  
>He knew everything would be okay so long as she was there.<p>

* * *

><p>Castle opened his eyes and saw the brunette sitting by his side.<p>

"I like seeing you when I wake up."

He cleared his throat and coughed, his dry throat burning.

"It makes it all..."

He cleared his throat again, frustrated. Beckett got up and poured him a glass of water.

"Shh, don't talk."

She put a hand behind his head and lifted it up while bringing the glass to his lips.

"Thank you," he whispered.

She pushed back his ever-present lock of hair from his forehead and observed him lovingly.

"What do I look like?" he asked with a hoarse voice.

She smiled and, after a quick glance at the closed door, she pressed her lips against his.

"Stop... talking..." she ordered between kisses.

He grinned at her, all his troubles forgotten... Almost.

"You talk then," he asked in a whisper. "Tell me a story... Tell me what happened these last few days."

"I don't know, Rick, you're the writer, I'm just a cop..."

"Try," he insisted, coughing again.

She gave him another sip of water before sitting back down in her chair. She took his hand in hers and started telling the story of the last few days. He listened intently, intervening only to ask for more details, particularly about her fight with Scap that she had deliberately quickly skipped over. She also told him about Val's failed attack on the Mayor and her death.

"Do we know who killed her?" he asked in a whisper when she was done with her tale.

"Probably a pro, just like the guy in the woods."

"And?" he insisted when she fell silent again.

"And that's it. I don't know anything more."

Castle's raised his eyebrows, puzzled. Then, his foggy mind seemed to clear as he realized that Kate's presence in the hospital, although pleasant, was strange.

"Kate, what are you doing here?"

This time, it was Beckett's turn to frown.

"What do you mean?"

Feeling that his throat would not appreciate his attempt to speak, he requested more water with a look over to his glass. She obliged and he continued in a whisper:

"You should be at the precinct. You should be investigating, finding who did..." he cleared his throat and she took the opportunity to interrupt him.

"I don't care, Rick." Off Castle's surprised look, she continued. "Rick, over the last week I've come too close to losing you, too many times and... if this week served any purpose, it was to make me realize that... I got my priorities all wrong in my life."

She pressed his hand a little tighter.

"You're my priority now, Richard. I'm here because I want to be here. New York's police department has a lot of fine, competent officers –Ryan and Esposito among them– who are more than capable of handling this case and the ones that will come up over the next two weeks."

"Two...?"

"I took a leave," she clarified.

As silence fell in the room, Beckett looked down at her thumb, which was nonchalantly stroking the writer's hand. In turn, Castle was looking at her, fascinated by the woman who had just told him, in her own way, that he was now the most important thing in her life.

She loved him, now he knew it. And she would always be there for him.

* * *

><p>Beckett awoke to the sound of the alarm clock and immediately turned it off with much disdain. She had not missed that sound.<br>She stayed in bed a few moments, taking the time to fully wake up and mentally prepare herself for her day back at the precinct. Her morning thoughts immediately turned to Castle and she smiled.  
>Kate sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed the pair of sweat pants on the floor. She pulled them up as she got on her feet.<p>

A smile firmly set on her face, she walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. She turned on the coffee machine and started on some toast. She then went to the front door and picked up the newspaper that was neatly waiting for her on the doorstep. She sat down at the table with it and ate her breakfast.  
>Kate let out a satisfied sigh, enjoying the peaceful silence of her surroundings before going back to a bustling precinct.<p>

Once her meal was over, she put her plate in the sink and prepared another pot of coffee to brew. Her own coffee cup in hand, she headed towards the bathroom. She turned on the taps and slipped under the cold water a few seconds later – on this day of June, the air was already warm so early in the morning, promising a hot day.

She came back out moments later and wrapped a towel around her chest before walking back to the bedroom.

She smiled and went over to the closet to pick out her clothes for the day. She opted for a black shirt and pair of pants. Once she was dressed, she picked up her father's watch from the nightstand and slid her mother's ring around her neck. She briefly stopped and looked at the ruffled sheets on the bed. She shrugged with a smile and left the room, grabbing her shoes on the way.

Kate looked at her watch, making sure she was on time and walked back to the kitchen.  
>She took out the eggs and the bottle of milk, grabbed a mug and some cocoa on the way. She poured the milk over the cocoa and put the mug into the microwave. In the meantime, she started her omelet.<p>

With a perfect timing, she heard the steps of the young girl coming down the stairs just as the microwave stopped.

"Good morning, Alexis. Slept well?"

At some point between the day Castle came out of the hospital and going back to work, Kate had, without realizing it, moved in with the Castles.

When Castle had grown bored at the hospital, he had demanded to be checked out. The doctor had agreed on the condition that he be under surveillance and taken care of constantly during the first few days. Kate had immediately volunteered to take care of the writer when Alexis and Martha were away.  
>Then, Martha had insisted that Kate should spend the night, saving her tiresome trips through downtown Manhattan. She had invested Castle's bed so she could be by his side all night long... To watch over him, of course.<br>And then she had brought some clothes over, and then some more, along with her shampoo, her toothbrush... Slowly, naturally, she had found her place in the Castle family.  
>Richard spent his time on the computer, writing his new novel – apparently largely inspired by their latest adventure.<br>Kate had gotten used to waking up in the morning with Alexis, preparing the young girl's breakfast before seeing her off to school. She then spent the rest of the day at the loft, catching up on all the books she had wanted to read and all the movies she hadn't had the time to see – sometimes in Castle's arms.

Over the last two weeks, no one had made any comment about Beckett's presence in the Castle loft.

"Good morning, Kate," greeted Alexis as she dropped her bag at the foot of the staircase. "Ready to head back to work?" she asked, taking her hot chocolate out of the microwave.

Kate pulled a face that made the redhead smile as she served her the omelet.

"Since nobody called about a murder, couldn't you just stay at home longer?"

"It's tempting. Especially since I haven't finished 'The Master and Margarita'..." Kate looked longingly at the book resting on the coffee table, a bookmark sticking out three-quarters of the way in.

"I mean... what are you going to do at the precinct anyway?"

"Paperwork," explained Kate with a sad sigh.

"Why didn't you do that during your break?"

Kate looked up at Alexis who realized what she had said and shook her head.

"Because it wouldn't be a break!" she corrected.

"Right. Plus, I'm not exactly allowed to take my files out of the precinct," added Beckett with a warm smile.

"Dad does it all the time though..."

Kate's smile grew even wider, thinking about all the rules Castle insisted on breaking.

"Yeah, well your father is..."

She saw said father appearing from the bedroom as he closed the belt around his pants.

"...Up!" she finished.

She got up and went over to him.

"What are you doing up? And dressed?"

"I smelled coffee and I just couldn't resist." He poured himself a cup of Joe and turned over to the two women. "That, and I'm coming with you today."

Beckett's eyes grew wider.

"Oh no you're not, Castle! You're not leaving the house."

"I'm sick of staying home and doing nothing, I'm bored."

"You're not doing 'nothing,' you're writing."

"Plus, you heard the doctor as well as I did, I'm fine now, I'm all healed! Everything's fine."

"You're not coming with me, Castle," she repeated matter-of-factly.

He stole a forkful of omelet from the pan.

"You ever notice that when you're scolding, you call me Castle again?" He turned to his daughter. "Did you notice?"

Alexis nodded, amused by their banter. Beckett opened her mouth and closed it, visibly looking for an answer.

"Don't change the subject, _Castle_. I don't want you to come to the precinct with me today."

"Why not?"

"It's dangerous."

"Dangerous? Paperwork?" He took a large sip of coffee, thinking. "Actually yeah, it's dangerously _boring_."

She gave him one of her dirty looks that had completely lost their threatening tone over time.

"Plus, I want to go say hello to Ryan and Esposito and the captain... and every one else. I haven't seen them in a while. They're gonna start worrying about me," he added with a devilish grin.

He stepped closer to Kate, effectively blocking her between his body and the kitchen counter. Alexis, in the meantime, focused her attention on the rest of her omelet.

"Please?" he pleaded in a suave voice, bringing his face closer to hers.

Panicked, Beckett cast a quick glance over at Alexis, trying to remind the writer of her presence.

"I promise I'll behave."

He snaked his arms around her waist and brought her closer still.

"Castle..." she warned.

"Say yes."

"Castle..." she repeated as his lips brushed against hers.

"Say yes."

She tried to think about his request, although her brain was distracted by the sensation of his lips brushing over hers. Momentarily giving up, she pressed her lips firmly against his, savoring the moment before pulling away.

"Fine, you win, you're coming with me. _But_," she added when he grinned proudly, "you're _only_ staying until lunch. And if I'm called on a crime scene, you are _not_ coming along. Got it?"

Castle looked over at his daughter who had decided it was safe to look up again. She nodded her, approval to her father and he looked back at Beckett.

"Seems fair."

"Good."

"Can I have another kiss?"

"No."

She gently pushed him off, with a proud grin of her own and walked to the bedroom.

"We leave in five," she told Castle, who was scrapping off the rest of omelet from the pan.

Seven minutes later, on a Monday morning of June, Kate Beckett, Richard Castle and his daughter took their seats in the detective's Crown Vic heading towards Alexis's high school and the 12th precinct of New York City.


	17. Dedication

**A/N: And here we are. Last chapter. Sorry this is going to be a long Author's Note, but I've got to...**

**Writing this story in French with AkaBlackNight was an incredible adventure. Our partnership was so unlikely and the idea for "Party of Two" came out of nowhere and yet we managed to turn it into a long, hopefully decent, story. So, thank you my adorable partner for writing this story with me. I love you and you're awesome.  
>Then for me, personally, translating all this into English proved to be an incredible challenge. At times I wondered why I had had this crazy idea and other times I loved translating this. It was a fantastic exercice for me... I'm just not sure I'll do it again anytime soon. <strong>

**This brings me to the biggest thank you of them all : wingsss - the extraordinary woman who proofread this story to make sure it was readable. I cannot thank you enough for your patience beta reading this. You did an amazing job and I actually walk away from this having learned a few things! Thank you. **

**And last but not least, thank you to all of you who read this story. Whether you left comments or not, the fact that you read this, is incredible in itself. And to those of you who did leave reviews... you're absolutely awesome. So, thank you.**

**Now I'm going to shut it and let you enjoy this last chapter of our story "Party of Two".**

* * *

><p><strong>PARTY OF TWO<br>**

**CHAPTER 16 : DEDICATION**

The elevator doors opened and, coffee in hand, Beckett walked to her desk.

She put her coffee down and turned on her computer. After moments of rearranging files and cleaning her desk, she looked at the one file she hadn't touched yet. She took it and stared at the name on the cover: '_Valkyrie._'

Opening the file, she stopped on the photo of her crime scene. She could still recall the details of that day. When she closed her eyes she could see Val pointing her gun at her, she could hear the gunshot that had made her jump, she could see the blonde woman fall on the carpet. The image of Val right before the gunshot haunted her; when she had told her that Castle was still alive, for that brief second before the gunshot, she saw fear in the killer's face – something she had never seen or thought she could see.

"Yo, Beckett!"

Esposito's voice tore her out of her thoughts.

"Hey, Esposito."

He looked at the file she was holding and back at Beckett.

"Whatcha looking for in there?"

"I don't know... something's bothering me."

"Yeah?" he asked, intrigued as he took a seat by her desk.

"Before the gunshot I told Val that Castle was still alive and... I swear I saw an ounce of fear in her eyes."

Esposito shrugged.

"Everything happened so fast... I mean... She was probably certain he'd died, given how very few people survive from that kind of poisoning. Maybe what you read as fear was just surprise?"

"Maybe..."

Esposito, feeling she had more to say pushed her further.

"But...?"

Beckett looked at Esposito and sighed. She felt maybe the writer had too much of an influence over her, as she realized she was about to spin a crazy theory but...

"I don't know Esposito... The guys that were behind all this... They took their business very seriously. I mean, for Christ's sake they shot a man because he refused to take drugs! What if failure wasn't an option? Val failed. With Castle still alive, she failed her contract, and with the Mayor alive, she also failed the last challenge of the game."

"Okay... I'll bite. But why not kill you, too?"

"Well there _was_ a contract on us. Back at the hotel, when they probably thought we were onto them. But those guys... They have resources, lots of resources! I'm guessing – hoping – we stopped being a threat when they realized we had nothing. And they're right. We've got nothing. The hotel's been burnt to the ground; everyone involved is either dead or has disappeared... We don't know who was behind all this, who shot Valkyrie..."

"Honestly, right now I mostly want to find that guy to give him a medal. That shot probably saved your life, Beckett."

"'Saved my life,'" repeated Beckett, thoughtful. "He did kind of save my life, didn't he?" she continued, suddenly on a roll. "And who do we know who has been known to do that from time to time?" Off Esposito's look, she continued, "Bully stopped Volcanic from shooting me, he is also the one who opened that door for me... We got out of there alive because of him. He did say Val was the one who deserved to die for killing two of their 'colleagues...'"

"So, you think Bully killed Val?"

"No."

Esposito frowned.

"What?"

"I mean... I don't know. Maybe. It's just a theory..."

Beckett didn't miss the smile that was slowly appearing on Esposito's face.

"What?" she asked.

"Castle's starting to rub off on you," he stated mischievously.

"How so?"

"Well, here you are, spinning wild theories just like Castle always does, trying to find a story that makes it all make sense... It's not a criticism, it's just..."

"It's just what?" she prodded, all the way giving him a 'be careful' look.

"It's funny, is all."

She shook her head and sent him a look.

"Anyway, moving on..." added Beckett with a smile, "what did you guys find out while I was away?"

"Nothing much. It's all in there. We didn't have much to begin with, but when they burnt down the hotel, we lost everything."

"Remind me again _how_ they did that? Wasn't the local police supposed to keep on eye on the facility?"

Esposito frowned at the memory.

"Yeah they were... Their chief served me some story about being understaffed and not being able to watch it twenty-four seven... Anyway, I'm not even sure the hotel would have given us much to go on but... well it was probably our only lead and now... It's gone. I'm sorry to say Beckett, but I think this one's gonna have to be filed under 'unsolved.'"

"Yeah..."

Before they could continue their conversation, Ryan appeared in the bullpen, file in hand.

"Hey! I've got ballistics results on the Jefferson case. The bullets match the husband's gun."

"We got him!" commented Beckett as she closed the _Valkyrie_ case and put it back on her pile. "Let's go."

The trio left the precinct, ready to make an arrest on another case.

* * *

><p>His fingers typing away on the keyboard were the only sound that could be heard in the quiet of the night.<p>

His frantic tapping stopped momentarily as he looked at the clock. It read two forty-two. He let out a sigh. He was tired, but too worried to sleep.

Castle didn't want to go to bed, not without her. He knew she was out there, fighting crime and he hated that he couldn't be there. She was scared of the idea of losing him if he followed her around, but he was terrified at the thought that her job could take her away from him. Every time his phone rang now, he jumped.

Sometimes, being a writer did not help one to go through life serenely. Sometimes, he wished his imagination wasn't as wild and morbid.  
>He looked at the clock again watching the minutes tick away as he waited for Kate to "come home." He smiled at that thought. He thought he would never see the day when he would be able to put 'Kate' and 'home' in the same sentence.<p>

Castle got up from his chair and grabbed his laptop with him. He walked to the kitchen and set it down on the counter as he prepared himself another cup of coffee.

A few minutes later, he had the warm cup in his hands and he inhaled the sweet, dark aroma. Forgetting about his writing for a moment, he went over to the couch and lay down, his head facing the door. In between sips of coffee, he stared at the door handle, waiting for it to turn.

When his mug was empty, he set it down and sunk deeper into the couch. Moments later, he closed his eyes.

He was about to completely fall asleep when he heard the clicks of a key being inserted into its lock. In the darkness of the apartment, he could only guess her silhouette, but he smiled when he recognized her. She walked in, careful to be as silent as possible, delicately closing the door. He watched her tiptoe towards the bedroom and stop in front of the kitchen counter. She looked at the computer, screensaver instructing the viewer: "you should be writing."  
>Her curiosity piqued. Castle had refused to tell her anything about his newest book, except that it was largely inspired by their time in the prison hotel outside New York. All he had told her was that "she wouldn't be disappointed."<p>

He watched her with an amused smile as her finger glided over the mouse and the screen saver disappeared.

Feeling slightly guilty for looking into his computer, but desperately wanting to take a peek, she scrolled up the hundreds of pages he had written.

"_If I could just see the title at least..._" she justified mentally.

But she stopped on another page instead and a smile appeared on her otherwise tired face.

"_To KB, my guardian angel._"

She let out a happy sigh when she read the dedication of his new book.

She smiled when she felt his presence move behind her and his arms laced around her waist. She pressed her back against him and he dropped a tender kiss on her neck.

"You just couldn't help yourself, could you?"

"Hum... You know it's dangerous to sneak up on me like that."

"I like to live dangerously, you know that," he replied as he nipped at her skin.

She turned around and put her arms around him.

"Rick... about tomorrow..."

"You mean when I _finally_ return as a consultant and not just a tourist?" he specified, clearly excited.

"Yeah..."

Her tone calmed his enthusiasm a notch.

"What's wrong?"

"Castle, we need to talk about you coming back."

"_Castle_?" he repeated, "I'm not going to like what you're about to say, am I?"

"Listen, I really thought about this and... I don't think it's a good idea for you to follow me anymore."

"What? We make an excellent team!"

"We do, that's not the point..." She sighed, frustrated by this conversation already. "You're gonna say I sound like a broken record but, it's too dangerous."

She did sound like a broken record. But he also understood why she was worried and that she didn't need him to contradict her, but to reassure her.

"Kate... I know you don't want me to follow you around because you're scared."

"I'm not scared," she immediately countered.

"Right," he conceded, amused.

"I just... I don't want to risk losing you again, Rick."

He put his hands on her cheeks and looked her right in the eyes.

"Kate, I love you. And I refuse to be that man who stays at home by the phone, waiting for that dreadful phone call telling him his lover has been shot in the line of duty. I don't want to be that guy. Following you in your work has its dangers, but so does crossing the street in New York, going grocery shopping, walking under a ladder, driving your car..."

"You've got many more of those examples?" she asked, with a smile.

"Plenty. I could be hit by a bus going to buy you a chocolate croissant, or mugged while going to my editor's, or even bitten by a rabid dog, maybe even get devoured by a pack of man-eating mice..."

Kate chuckled at his words.

"My point is... I love you, Kate. And I want to spend the rest of what's left of my life – be it an hour, a week, a year or a century – by your side."

She smiled and simply pressed herself onto his chest in response, holding him tight.

"Plus, I know people in high places who would _not_ let you get rid of me so easily."

Knowing exactly whom he was talking about, she smiled into his chest.

"And when he isn't Mayor anymore?"

"Then... I'll just bribe whoever takes his place."

Beckett pulled back and gently punched the writer for his silliness.

"Ouch! What'd you do that for?" he protested in a high-pitched voice that made her chuckle.

"Shh, some people are sleeping," she chastised playfully.

"And others should..."

"I'm not that tired," she replied, finding his neck suddenly interesting.

Castle grinned and slowly pulled her back. Fetching into his back pocket he took out his phone and presented it to her.

"Here, get our scrabble ready, for old time's sake, while I grab us something to nibble on."

She took the phone and walked to the couch. Before she sat down, she laid her detective gear on the table, to be more comfortable.

"Don't put the handcuffs away, Kate," she heard him say from the kitchen, "we might need those later."

She shook her head although she wasn't completely against _that_ idea.

Beckett sat down and started perusing the phone's applications, quickly forgetting why she had it in hand in the first place.  
>Unconsciously, she found her way to his contacts and her curiosity piqued once more. She slid down to her name and, with a brief glance over at Castle who was exploring his fridge, she pressed on 'Ringtone.'<p>

_Yes, I can see her  
>'cause every girl in here wanna be her<br>Oh! She's a Diva...  
>I feel the same,<br>And I wanna meet her_

She started tapping the rhythm with her foot.

_They say: "She low down..."  
>It's just a rumor I don't believe 'em!<br>They say: "She needs to slow down..."  
>The baddest thing around town! <em>

She knew that song, but she couldn't remember the title...

_She's nothing like a girl you've ever seen before!  
>Nothing you can compare to your neighborhood whore!<br>I'm tryin' to find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectful! _

"I don't believe this!" she suddenly exclaimed as she remembered.

She shot up from her seat, phone in hand and shot Castle a dirty look.

_The way, that booty movin', I can't take no more…_

"You chose _that_ song, for _me_?"

_Have to stop what I'm doin', so I can pull up her close…_

Castle swallowed hard and put down his bowl of fruit.

"What? You don't like David Guetta?" he asked sheepishly.

_I'm tryin' to find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectful!_

"No, no... I like his music... But you chose _that_ particular song as _my_ ring tone?"

She started walking towards the kitchen counter as he stepped around it, ready to run.

_Damn Girl!  
>Damn, you's a sexy bitch, sexy bitch!<br>Damn, you's a sexy bitch!_

"Okay, wait, wait... Before you kill me can I just say something?"

"I'm listening..." she replied as she moved closer.

"First of all, can you put the phone down, please, he's innocent in all this."

Beckett stared at him and put it on the kitchen counter, not taking her eyes off her target.

"And secondly, well... I kinda... forgot to change it. I've had a lot on my mind these past few weeks."

He gave her a charming smile, hoping to win her over, but nonetheless looked around the room for a possible retreat route.  
>She stopped and crossed her arms over her chest.<p>

"You chose... _Sexy Bitch_... as my ringtone, Castle... you're not gonna get off that easy," she announced calmly. But her tone was threatening enough to make the writer fear for his well being.

He started a retreat towards their bedroom... and she followed.

**THE END**


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